Thirteen
by ShardsOfSilence
Summary: AU Every deck of playing cards has thirteen types of cards; each a fragment of the whole to tell their own story. However, as they collide together, they find that all roads lead to the same place as their story echoes across the world.
1. Pre-flop

**Hi everybody! I'm starting this new story just because the idea was in my head for a long time and it started gaining traction to the point where I became distracted from writing The Joker, the Beast, and the Destroyer of Worlds. I'm not giving up that story or putting it on hiatus but I want to at least get started on this idea and hopefully it will put me at ease and I can work on both stories.**

 **So, this is AU (if you didn't catch it from the summary), the setting of this story is sort of in some modern era if magic/ninjutsu had worked alongside science in the development of the world. A lot of characters will act differently than what you are used to from the manga/anime. There isn't really a good reason for OOC and I honestly just chose the cast of Naruto to act in place of this story and I sort of used their story relations to place them into this cast accordingly so bear with me.**

 **The inspiration for this sort of story came because I've been revisiting a lot of different Final Fantasy's as well as Mass Effect and the exposition for both was something I enjoyed greatly and I decided that it might be fun to try something like this. No, the plot won't be some weird amalgamation of the games with a Naruto twist but rather it's something I plan on playing around with in my head to see where the story will develop. Unlike TJ, TB, ATDOW, this isn't something I planned out very thoroughly before starting so development of this story might be quite slow.**

 **Chapter 1:** Pre-Flop

Sasuke tried to control his breathing as he was exhaling rapidly. He looked up from his battle stance and glanced across over to Naruto who was smirking at him while also covered in bruises and breathing rather hard. Sasuke wiped some sweat from his face before gazing around at the endless field and blue skies and then proceeded to dash forward towards Naruto. Naruto smirked and slammed both his hands at the ground which caused his arms to glow with Chakra for a bit. As Sasuke got closer to Naruto, several silver chains burst out from the ground and darted towards Sasuke to throw him off course. Sasuke quickly unsheathed a knife hidden by his leg and began using it to swat away the incoming chains as he kept dashing towards Naruto.

"Hah, show me some respect Naruto, such a trick is beneath you," declared Sasuke as he closed in on Naruto who was still crouching over.

"You should know that I show you more respect than anyone else," smirked Naruto as a single chain burst out from between Naruto and Sasuke and darted directly at Sasuke.

Sasuke quickly leapt back and gathered some Chakra into his blade before swinging it and splitting apart the newly visible chain. He then scoffed and dashed forward again and aimed a roundhouse kick at Naruto. Naruto quickly ducked beneath it and turned around and delivered a kick of his own which Sasuke blocked with his wrist. Sasuke then slid inward and threw a punch at Naruto's midsection but Naruto then arched his body to the side and aimed a punch at Sasuke's gut. Sasuke grunted as the blow knocked him back a bit before Naruto seemingly stumbled forward and aimed a kick high up towards Sasuke's temple. Sasuke quickly blocked and caught Naruto's leg before throwing him over his shoulder. As Naruto landed he quickly lashed him arm out and released a blast of wind at Sasuke. Sasuke quickly turned his head away to avoid the blow and rolled to the side before lifting his head back up to reveal a cut that left a sizeable blood smear across his face.

"Are we having fun yet?" Smirked Naruto.

"…..The time of MY LIFE!" Yelled out Sasuke as he also smirked and drew out another hidden dagger and swiped upward.

Naruto quickly jumped back and managed to avoid the direct attack but still got cut across the nose which caused blood to flow across his face. Both fighters looked at each other for a moment before Sasuke stuck out his right arm and gripped his right wrist with his left hand. Naruto then stuck out his left hand and began gathering Chakra. A ring of Chakra formed around Sasuke before it gathered up to his right hand and exploded outward in a discharge of electricity whereas the Chakra gathered in Naruto's hand formed into a dense ball over his left hand. Both of them made eye contact and smirked before dashing at each other and thrusting their arm forward.

 **CHIDORI!**

 **RASENGAN!**

* * *

Sasuke slowly opened his eyes and was greeting with the sight of a white ceiling and the steady rhythm of a beating hospital machine. He rubbed his eyes a bit and sat up as he tried to piece together what had happened.

"Ngn….where am I?" Sasuke asked to no one in particular.

"You're in the hospital….AGAIN!" Scolded an older blonde with pigtails.

"Where's….Naruto?" Murmured Sasuke.

"He left about an hour ago….now….WHAT did I tell you two about sparring with heavy duty techniques?"

"Not to do it….Dr. Senju," murmured Sasuke.

"…and WHAT did you do?" Growled Tsunade.

"…Spar with heavy techniques."

"Bah, if you were Naruto, I would bash you over the head."

"…..So Naruto recovered already?"

"This is only the thousandth time that you two have damaged each other equally and you begin to grumble as I explain that Naruto just heals faster than you."

"…Can I go yet?" Asked Sasuke with a rather bored look.

Tsunade loudly sighed as she tossed Sasuke a small box filled with some basic first aid before pointing him towards the door. Sasuke slowly got out of the bed and grabbed the box before bowing slightly at Tsunade and walking out of the medical room.

"Finally out, eh?"

Sasuke looked towards the source of the voice and saw Naruto sitting in a chair glossing over the magazine.

"How do you heal so quickly?" Asked Sasuke.

"I don't know, Dr. Senju once mentioned it might be because of my huge Chakra reserve," shrugged Naruto. "Not everything healed all the way though."

Naruto put the magazine away before using his left hand to gesture at a diagonal scar left above his nose from Sasuke's knife. Sasuke looked over at a mirror hanging in the medical lobby and noticed that he had a mirror scar right above his face as well. Sasuke shrugged before he gestured at Naruto to follow him.

"C'mon, our last class before the exam is about to start," reminded Sasuke as he headed towards the center of the institution.

Naruto nodded before tossing the magazine back on the rack and walking out with Sasuke.

"It honestly saddens me a bit that you can go even against me but your standings in the class rankings are merely above average," mumbled Sasuke as he and Naruto walked through the academy.

"If you know your enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles," grinned Naruto.

"….Do you even know what that means?" Asked Sasuke rather incredulously.

"Eh, kind of. I saw the quote in the magazine and thought it would seem cool to say," shrugged Naruto.

"You're continuing to depress me with your display of knowledge," grunted Sasuke.

"We grew up sparring, you used to beat me badly all the time. Can't expect me to just not get better," shrugged Naruto. "Plus, unluckily for you, I just happened to naturally grasp onto battle styles that naturally counter yours."

"Yeah, sure. Naturally," grumbled Sasuke.

"Meh, isn't going even against someone who has a stylistic advantage technically something you should be proud of?" Pondered Naruto as he scratched his chin and looked at the ceiling.

"Doesn't mean I have to like it," grunted Sasuke.

* * *

"…..and remember class, tomorrow is the evaluation exam; prepare for it well," instructed Iruka as he dismissed the class.

Naruto yawned as he grabbed his handbag and swung it over his shoulder before exiting the class with Sasuke.

"Did you pay attention at all?" Asked Sasuke rather incredulously.

"What difference does it make? It's a live mission that we have to partake in….I already know the usual stuff. Not like listening to a lecture is gonna improve my combat skills," shrugged Naruto.

"It is unwise to take something so lightly…..the risks are very real," murmured an individual wearing a rather large coat and sunglasses.

"Oh, hey Shino. Yeah, the risks are real but I think I'm prepared enough for this as it is," yawned Naruto.

"S-s-still, y-y-you s-should be c-careful Naruto-kun," stuttered a voice behind Shino.

"Meh, Hinata, let him learn the hard way when he loses his arm," chuckled Sasuke as he looked at the redness that suddenly was displayed on Hinata's face.

"Regardless, we were going to meet Kiba in the cafeteria. Would you care to join us?" Asked Shino as he readjusted his sunglasses.

"Nah, I'm tired from Iruka-sensei's class. I think I'm gonna just head back to the dorms and catch some rest," replied Naruto as he yawned again and waved goodbye to his friends before walking off.

"Better fall asleep in the right room this time," grumbled Sasuke as he turned his attention to Hinata and Shino. "Sorry, I'm gonna head to the marketplace and see if I can purchase some more equipment, maybe some other time."

* * *

Sasuke glossed over the shelf of items and equipment and pondered over what would be the most logical and optimal bundle of items to purchase given his finances.

 _Hmmm…..we're never given a heads up for the nature of the live mission…..I suppose it wouldn't hurt to by a little bit of everything that I don't normally use too often…I could use an extra set of knives too…._

With that train of thought, Sasuke grabbed some lock picks and some smoke bombs before looking to pick up a new pair of knives.

"I recognize you….another set of knives? What do you do with all the other ones you purchase; play knife smasher?" Asked the cashier as Sasuke put down his bundle of items.

"They dull out quickly through sparring," answered Sasuke a bit sheepishly as he looked off to the side.

"…..Are you sparring ten hours a day with steel or something? I'm Kazaki Tenten by the way," spoke the cashier as she offered a handshake.

"Uchiha Sasuke, and my sparring partner has the ability to summon chains made of really strong metal," answered Sasuke as he shook her hand.

"Oh, I recognize that name, you're in the class that's about to take the practical right?"

"Yeah…..are you an academy student too?"

"Oh, no. I graduated last year, but I'll be a part of tomorrow's mission. Maybe I'll see you?"

"Oh…maybe…wait what? You're going to be there?"

"Of course, it's a live mission meaning actual Leaf members will be participating."

"Really? So I'll get to work with actual Leaf members?" Pondered Sasuke as he scratched his chin.

"Well yeah, it's nothing super serious so your leaders will be people like me; fresh Leaf members that are of the lowest ranking. Be careful though; it still is a live mission meaning people who aren't careful may lose their lives," warned Tenten.

"What kind of mission is this?" Asked Sasuke.

"Pretty sure I'm not supposed to tell you; be ready for anything," smirked Tenten.

Sasuke smirked back before completing the transaction and bidding Tenten farewell before taking his items and exiting the store. As Sasuke walked through the institution, he took note of some of his fellow students who were practicing out in the quad. He saw Yamanaka Ino, floating in a meditative position next to Nara Shikamaru who appeared to be sleeping. A couple of apples fell from the tree above them and Shikamaru's shadow suddenly rose up and intercepted them before it could interrupt both of their concentration. Akimichi Chouji proceeded to do one-handed pull-ups above them on a tree branch while his other hand was used to munch on some chips that were stuffed away in his pocket. Seeing even Shikamaru doing some lightweight practice managed to make Sasuke chuckle a bit.

 _Guess everyone is a bit nervous for what's to come tomorrow…._

Sasuke was a bit lost in thought as he walked down the halls towards his dormitory and arrived in the small section that he had called his home for most of his life. As he arrived he noticed Naruto sleeping on the couch rather than his own room. Sasuke quietly walked through the communal area shared between him and Naruto to deposit his own equipment in his room. When he was done, he exited his room just as Naruto murmured a bit and opened one eye to see Sasuke.

"So…..prepared?" Asked Sasuke as he sat down on a stool by the kitchen counter and began to look around while drumming his fingers on the counter.

Naruto stayed silent for a few moments and all that could be heard in the room was the rhythmic sound of Sasuke's fingers on the counter.

"Stop worrying yourself, you're top of the class for a reason; you'll be fine," chuckled Naruto as he closed his eye.

"I wasn't worried," lied Sasuke as he stood up to go look in the fridge for something to eat.

"Then why were you fidgeting?"

"…..Die."

Naruto snorted as Sasuke took out a pan from the cupboard and some eggs from the fridge before turning on the stove.

"Scrambled, please," requested Naruto as he smirked while keeping his eyes closed.

"Go fuck yourself."

* * *

Naruto slowly opened his eyes and yawned before proceeding to stretch. He proceeded to get out of bed and into his academy uniform in preparation for the mission. As he finished brushing his teeth, he exited out of his room and saw that Sasuke was eating a bowl of cereal while looking at his phone.

"Finally calmed down?" Smirked Naruto as he sat down and grabbed an apple from a nearby fruit bowl.

"Whatever happens, happens. I've decided to change my focus to simply not dying," shrugged Sasuke.

"That's the spirit….although I'm not sure what we're doing will be THAT dangerous."

"Eh, dangerous enough to warn us that people die. That cashier lady, you know, with the buns. She's gonna be taking part in the mission today and she graduated last year. So individuals with at least a year of field experience will be out there. Gotta be kind of interesting."

'Oh yeah, I think I know who you're talking about. Don't know her name though."

Sasuke shrugged before attaching a small pouch to the back of his pants and double checking that he his small item holster was attached to his thigh before gesturing at Naruto to start walking to meet up with everyone.

"Looks like everyone showed up in uniform," noted Naruto as he looked at all the students wearing black polo's that had the Leaf inscribed over the heart and a red spiral on the back while also wearing black pants that had dark red lines going down the sides.

"We were instructed to do so….dumbass," muttered Sasuke as he facepalmed himself.

"Oh really? I guess I lucked out!" Chuckled Naruto rather sheepishly as he put his hands behind his head.

Before Sasuke could retort, Iruka appeared before all the students and gestured for silence and their attention as he began to explain the task at hand.

"Alright everybody, listen up! You're all going to be assisting actual Leaf operatives in a liberation mission of a small town that has requested our help. Actual combat will be involved so I suggest you take this very seriously so that you don't carelessly throw your life away. You will all be separated into three-person teams for this mission with a fully-fledged Leaf operative acting as your captain. You will be monitored by your captain as well as hidden members of our very own STF in order to evaluate whether or not you will graduate. Any questions?"

Iruka paused for a moment as he gazed around to see if there were any hands raised amongst the sea of students.

"Who are the STF?" Whispered Naruto as he looked at Sasuke with a face of confusion.

"….It stands for Special Task Force, it's the intel and recon division Leaf's black ops. Don't you EVER pay attention?" Asked Sasuke as he facepalmed himself again.

"Hehe, why do you ask questions you already know the answer to?" Responded Naruto rather cheekily.

Iruka cleared his throat to gather everyone's attention before proceeding to read the names of the teams.

"Now, once I've read your team, report to the front gate to prepare for travel," instructed Iruka.

"Inuzuka Kiba, Hyuuga Hinata, Aburame Shino. Your acting captain will be Kazaki Tenten."

"Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura. Your acting captain will be Hyuuga Neji."

"Nara Shikamaru, Yamanaka Ino, Akimichi Chouji. Your acting captain will be Rock Lee."

Sasuke had heard enough before he realized he no longer cared. He tapped Naruto on the shoulder and made eye contact with a girl that had pink hair before they exited the classroom and made their way to the front gate where a number of individuals wearing similar outfits were standing. The only difference was that they had a dark green flak jacket as well as a headband with the Leaf insignia. Sasuke looked around a bit before he caught the attention of Tenten who was standing around one male with closed eyes and rather long hair and another who had rather thick eyebrows and a determined look.

"Hey Sasuke! Are you in my group?" Asked Tenten as she waved.

"No, we're looking for….Hyuuga Neji?" Answered Sasuke with a rather questioning tone.

"That would be me…..let us depart," answered the long haired individual who had his eyes closed and his arms crossed."

"Yes sir," saluted Sasuke as he stood straight up.

"Oh uh….right…sir," stumbled Naruto a bit as he adopted Sasuke's stance.

Sakura merely remained silent as she too saluted and put her book away. Neji nodded rather curtly before gesturing the three to follow him into a nearby vehicle. The four got into the sizeable vehicle before they each strapped down into a seat. Neji then knocked on the inside door a few times before the vehicle roared to life and began driving down the road. A rather uncomfortable silence filled the air as Neji adopted a rather similar posture as to when he was waiting for the academy cadets.

"I take it you've all been briefed about the mission?" Asked Neji as he kept his eyes closed.

"More or less," answered Sakura rather quietly.

"Hmph, good. I suppose now would be a good time to be acquainted with our abilities so that there are no surprises in battle and we can react accordingly," suggested Neji.

"Okay! I'm a bit of a brawler in close quarters. Although I don't necessarily have sloppy form, I draw most of my technique primarily from an external form of Long Fist; I go for unpredictable aggression. I have a basic grasp of Wind manipulation and I can create Shadow Clones. I also have the ability to summon rather tough steel chains from my hands and can split them but their durability is affected the more I split my chains. I don't really think their durability is worth utilizing once I go past six chains. I'm more suited to short to mid-range battle," explained Naruto as he recounted his abilities.

Neji raised his eyebrows at the mention of steel chains but then proceeded to nod before directing his attention towards Sasuke.

"Hn….I have a more defensive style that relies more on defense and countering as opposed to Naruto's aggression in close quarters. I draw my technique mostly from the style known as Interceptor Fist. I have a rudimentary grasp of Fire and Lightning manipulation. I also use a myriad of weapons ranging from a whip chain to knives depending on what the situation calls for. I have a very underdeveloped Sharingan and all it really allows me to do is see through basic illusions and predict enemy movement slightly better. Overall, I'd say I'm well rounded in defense and offense and somewhat prepared for all battle ranges," muttered Sasuke.

"Hm….jack of all trades but a master of none? Not bad, every team could probably use at least one," noted Neji to which Sasuke merely grunted.

"I'm not very good in close quarters when having to deal with numerous opponents. I utilize mainly deception in my movements and have a very loose fitting form because my guard is not particularly strong. I draw a bulk of my technique from the Lost Monkey style. I have no ability to manipulate elements but I am capable of casting basic illusions and other techniques of deception. I also have the ability to fire out sound waves at a rather wide decibel range. While I am probably at least competent in close quarters, I prefer mid to long range combat. Also, as a rather last resort, I can summon an avatar of myself made entire on my Chakra which amplifies a lot of my offensive options. However, such a technique is incredibly draining and I'd rather not use it often," spoke Sakura rather quietly.

This seemed to pique the interest of the three males but Sakura's facial expression clearly showed that she was no longer interested in going to further explanation of her supposed trump card.

"Well, I suppose I should explain a bit about myself. My abilities are focused mostly on close range as I draw a bulk of my offensive capabilities from close-quarters from my family's traditional fighting style. The Gentle Fist renders my close-quarters prowess rather deadly. I know a handful of defensive techniques that can extend to long range in case I am faced with a rather unfortunate opponent for myself. I have competent Earth manipulation and my Byakugan renders me a good scout as well as a rear guard to check for multiple blind spots within the squad," explained Neji.

Right as Neji finished a summary of his abilities, the vehicle came to a halt and the door was opened up by the driver who was an individual in a black business suit and sunglasses.

"This is as far as we can take you, you have to arrive in the destination by submarine. It's a rather short trip," explained the driver.

Neji merely nodded before he got out of the car and waited for his team to get out. As they did, they transitioned over to the small submarine that was waiting for them. When they all got on, Neji knocked on the front part of the interior again and the engine suddenly began make noises before the vehicle submerged underneath the water and began darting forward towards the destination.

"Listen up, we're about to enter a battlefield hot meaning that active combat will be going on between the resistance group in the town as well as the enemy mercs that are undoubtedly crawling across the place. Although there shouldn't be an enemy that merits a huge amount of concern given all the training you should all have undergone, do not take this lightly. If you do not treat this seriously there is a chance you may simply just die on the battlefield. On another note, I am your captain, my word is law in the heat of battle. If you wish to question my plan during the formulation stages, that is fine. In fact, I welcome discussion in this part to help develop your tactical skills as well as the off chance that I perhaps gain insight. However, on the battlefield in the heat of the moment you are to listen to me without question and execute my orders without hesitation. Any slipup or desync within our movements could get us all killed or put in a terrible position. Everyone heeding a questionable plan is better than 4 headless chickens running around trying to solve things their way. Understand?" Asked Neji.

Sasuke and Sakura merely nodded while Naruto gulped rather loudly. It seemed that the severity of the mission was finally getting to him. Seeing this, Neji merely sighed as he attempted to offer words of encouragement.

"Now, don't worry too much. As long as you do not perform acts of insubordination I can almost guarantee you that no tragedy will befall us. While it is not unheard of, most students do not die on this and typically the worse that happens is merely heavy injuries amongst a few. Try to relax, we'll be there in half an hour or so." revealed Neji.

Naruto nodded rather hesitantly as he exhaled rather loudly to calm himself down. Silence fell amongst the four again as the only sound was the low hum of the submarine as it continued to travel towards the destination. Naruto began fidgeting and tapping his legs for a few moments before he was met with the harsh glare of Sakura.

"…What kind of enemies will be present?" Asked Sakura as she stopped glaring at Naruto.

"Based on reports, it seems like basic mercenaries. Some cheap hired thugs and at worst maybe some trained weapon wielders. There's nothing that you shouldn't be able to handle based on our recon, but stay on your guard," answered Neji.

After a period of time, Neji looked at a wristwatch around his left hand before inserting an earpiece into his right ear and looking at his phone.

"This is Hyuuga Neji of the Leaf reporting in. My squad is briefed and accounted for. We are rapidly approaching the designated drop off point, can you give me an update on the situation?" Asked Neji as he waited for a moment while static seemed to blare in his ear.

"This is the ground resistance! There are a number of enemies scattered around the drop off point, they're trying to secure the area to prevent the backup from adequately reinforcing the town. Suggest you find a different way other than the docks or else you'll be coming in hot! There might be –," the voice on the other end cut out as the sound of an explosion was heard followed by radio static.

Neji spoke a few more times to see if he could reestablish connection before swearing and then slapping the door to the cockpit a few times. The vehicle suddenly came to a stop before Neji opened up a compartment to reveal several aquatic devices and tossed several over to the cadets.

"Do any of you have devices that can't handle water or basic aquatic pressure?" Asked Neji to which the three cadets merely shook their heads.

"Good, hold on to the rebreather. We're gonna go the rest of the way via swimming and hope to get the jump on the enemy. We aren't far away so this shouldn't take long. When we arrive, we are there to SECURE the area. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT chase the enemy if stragglers begin to flee out of the drop off zone. We left earlier than the other teams so we need to provide a safer spot for everyone behind us," instructed Neji.

"Bah, why can't we just enter in like we planned on doing, a few mercs aren't going to stop us," whined Naruto.

"Negative cadet, we didn't get a clear summary of the enemies waiting at the drop off zone, they could be ready with some heavy weaponry or technique designed to destroy vehicles for all we know. That would compromise the mission so I'm not going to risk it. Now, let's move!" Ordered Neji as he opened the hatch above them.

Neji climbed out and stayed low as he activated his Byakugan and the veins around his eyes became more prominent.

"Looks like the destination isn't too far from here," noted Neji as he pointed off to the smoke in the distance. "Can you all competently walk on water?"

The three cadets nodded to which Neji returned his attention back in the direction of the destination and began darting his vision around to find a strategic point of entry.

"We can dash until about halfway then we put on the rebreathers and approach from under the water. This should keep our element of surprise. Aim for that sandbar off to the left instead of the docking area, we can sneak around and easily take out the opponents from there. When we arrive, Naruto, I want you to charge forward and create several clones to grab the attention of the enemy. Sakura, mask Sasuke's and I's presence then do anything you can to support Naruto. Sasuke, while Naruto and Sakura have their attention we will circle around and sandwich them to suffocate their ability to respond. Are we all clear on the plan?"

Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke all stood up straight and saluted Neji.

"Yes, sir!" Answered all three of them simultaneously.

The four of them dashed off across the water as they sped across the sea and closed the distance towards the original docking area. After a few moments of running, Neji made a downward gesture with his hand before he put on his rebreather and dove underneath the water and the three cadets followed in suit. As they all swam forward and propelled themselves forward, Neji kept his Byakugan active to keep track of the sandbar and continued to lead the group via hand signs. As the depth of the water got shallower and shallower, Neji pointed at the surface before rising up and his squad rose with him. As they stood up at the sandbar they looked to their right and saw a number of armored individuals darting around and aiming weapons into a covered position that was backed up against the dock. Neji looked at Naruto who only nodded back before dashing forward and making a cross symbol with his left and right index and middle fingers.

 **Shadow Clone Technique**

Naruto suddenly split into 7 before they dashed forward and grabbed the attention of the mercs. Sakura closed her eyes for a second and concentrated her energy before releasing a pulse of Chakra. After doing so she turned her attention to Neji and Sasuke.

"You two should've blurred out of sight for those individuals," explained Sakura before she charged forward.

Sasuke and Neji took a wide path and ran around the chaos of Naruto and his clones engaging the mercs while Sakura dismantled their formation with illusions and shuriken tosses. Neji and Sasuke found themselves behind the enemies and then ran forward and began striking and stabbing individuals from behind. The remaining mercs began to turn around upon hearing the muffle cry of their allies only for Naruto to jump up and fire out six chains that bound the remaining mercs. Naruto then lifted them all up and smashed them against each other before throwing them roughly at the ground to do away with them.

"Good job, that was solid execution," nodded Neji in praise before he turned his attention over to a set of warehouse boxes that the mercs were surrounding.

"Hello, this is Hyuuga Neji of the Leaf. We spoke over the radio earlier, we're here to help," explained Neji as he walked towards the boxes.

A sigh of relief was heard as several poorly equipped individuals stood up and nervously walked over to Neji.

"Give me a status report on the situation," instructed Neji.

"The mercs….they pushed us back. We've lost a lot of ground. They've taken control of our main communication tower," explained one of the individuals as they pointed at a rather tall tower a bit off from them.

"Okay, are there any other resistance members or survivors?" Inquired Neji.

"There were a number of is in the town square but mercs swarmed through the area maybe 45 minutes ago, we've lost contact and have been separated since then."

"Okay, my squad and I will check that out. You guys reconstruct a defensive position and arm yourself with the weapons of the fallen. There are more of us incoming so we need this landing area secure," ordered Neji.

The resistance members nervously shook their head as Neji gestured for Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura to follow him. The four of them dashed through the remnants of the town as there was a lot of debris and destruction around them. After several minutes of running, a pair of voices blared loudly through Neji's earpiece.

"This is Kazaki Tenten, we have arrived!"

"This is Rock Lee, my squad is up and accounted for!"

"Lee, Tenten, my squad and I are headed to town square to survey the area. We were informed that this was the last known location of rather large pockets of resistance members. I suggest searching the surrounding areas for possible survivors. My squad will secure the center," said Neji.

A comply of affirmative was heard between Tenten and Lee before Neji gestured for his squad to continue traveling. The two continued down the ruin roads of the town before finally coming across a fountain surrounded by a number of small and large buildings.

"This seems like the town square those resistance told us about…spread out and look for-," instructed Neji before he was cut off.

"Over there! Its members of the Leaf! The resistance must've hired them! Take them out!" Yelled a rather loud voice from an alleyway before it was swarmed by sword wielding individuals.

"What he said; take them out," ordered Neji as he dashed forward and avoided a sword swing before palm striking the individual in the chest.

Naruto nodded before he smirked and jumped up and released some chains that darted forward and began to strike at nearby individuals. Sasuke quickly turned his attention to the alley before going through a series of handseals and then proceeded to take a huge breath.

 **Fire Style: Grand Fireball**

Sasuke blew out a rather large smoldering fireball that incinerated the alleyway and cremated a bulk of the mercs that were still trying to exit out. Sakura ducked under a sword swing and did a roundhouse kick that knocked away the attacker before she did a backhand spring and a backflip to get out of range of multiple pursuers.

"Hehe, whats the matter girlie, stop running and fight us!" Sneered one of the mercs as he continued to swing at Sakura.

"Okay," replied Sakura rather smugly as she jumped back even further and got into a fighting stance.

The five mercs that were chasing her all brandished their blades a bit before smirking and charging forward. As they got closer, Sakura merely laughed before gathering Chakra into her palms causing them to glow white. She then thrust both of them forward and released two sonic waves that smashed through several support columns causing the roof of a building to come crashing down and crush the mercs.

"Good eye Sasuke, nice strategy Sakura, ….brutal….and kind of maniacal…..but effective," praised Neji as he looked at his squad and then to Naruto who was laughing to himself while smashing mercs together with his chains.

Naruto blushed a bit and chuckled sheepishly as he dropped the mercs and regrouped with his team.

"What now?" Asked Naruto as he looked around at the debris and bodies. "Do we go for the comms tower?"

"No, we should secure this area first and wait for more help to arrive before we attempt to go further into the town, we lack intel of what we're up against," explained Neji.

Before Naruto could protest, a rather loud explosion was heard and a number of buildings off into the distance collapsed as well as several new columns of smoke began rising from the sky. Neji narrowed his eyes for a moment before he dashed forward to the newly created giant pile of debris. As they got closer, they noticed an individual lying face down and not moving.

"Shikamaru?! What're you doing here? Are you okay?" Cried out Naruto as he turned the body over to the front.

"Ngnn….man, that explosion knocked the wind out of me…," groaned Shikamaru as he slowly tried to sit up.

"Hold still cadet, you said you were near an explosion? Your senses are probably a bit disoriented from that. Here, this will help," said Neji as he pulled out a syringe from his jacket and inserted it into Shikamaru.

Shikamaru groaned for a bit before his eyes suddenly shot open and he sat up rather quickly. His gaze darted around rapidly as he took in his surroundings.

"What…what was that?" Asked Shikamaru.

"Adrenaline…now, what happened to you?" Asked Neji.

"My squad and I were with Lee, we dispatched a group of mercs and tried to scout out the area for survivors. Then this strange individual appeared before us in a black cloak and red clouds. This guy made clear rather quick that he was the enemy but he didn't answer any of Lee's questions. He was about to defeat all of us but I made a plan out of desperation that barely worked and I managed to bind him. Right as Lee went in for the kill, the individual started glowing….and he exploded. That attack separated all of us I think," explained Shikamaru before he stood up and dusted himself off.

Neji nodded before he put his hand up to his ear, "Hey Lee, I have Shikamaru with me. He's largely unharmed. Can you hear me?"

"Yeah, this is Lee. That's good to hear, the rest of the squad is accounted for but we're caught up with some mercs right now, we can regroup later."

"Lee! Neji! This is Tenten! I got an update from the higher ups. This mission is WAY more dangerous than we thought it would be! A mercenary group formed by some of the world's most dangerous criminals are here. STF operatives are already heading onto the scene to try and contain the situation! I'll send over the meet up coordinates to you over the navigation device, we've been delegated to…."

Tenten's voice seemed to fade away into static before Neji groaned in frustration and called out Lee and Tenten's name a few times to reestablish connection.

"Bah, that damned comms tower they're controlling is probably jamming our signal," spat out Neji as he glared at the tall structure in the distance.

All of a sudden, a voice began broadcasting over the remaining communication devices scattered across the city that made Sasuke and Naruto freeze up on the spot.

"Hello remaining resistance members. This is Uchiha Itachi….you might recognize that name from any top 10 most wanted list. I'm here to announce that we have secured key areas of this town and that you should all surrender or we will be forced to brutally kill you…this is the only warning you'll get," warned the voice of Itachi before the broadcast cut off.

"He's here…..," muttered Sasuke.

Sasuke took several steps in the direction of the tower before he was cut off sharply by Neji.

"No, I don't care about your personal vendetta, you are to listen to MY orders. We were not told to assault the comms tower so don't even think about it Uchiha," reprimanded Neji.

"But we don't know our orders….if we went to the comms tower, we could try and re-establish connection with the rest of our squads," pointed out Shikamaru.

Neji thought this over for a moment before he slowly nodded and then glared over to Sasuke, "Alright, we'll head over there with the purpose of unjamming our communications…and NOTHING else….are we clear, Sasuke?"

"Yes….sir," muttered Sasuke with a half-hearted salute.

 **TBC**

 **Whew, this is a work in progress as I've said and I haven't played around with this idea to have a full structure and understanding of the plot just yet so updates will be a bit slow…however, what do you guys think of this premise? Interesting?**


	2. Nine

**Hey Guys, I decided to do devote a bit more time to this story because I just feel more inclined to write for it at the moment. I'm almost done with the next chapter of TJ, TB, ATDOW I swear haha. I think having 2 stories to write for will help me keep things fresh in my head. I've been thinking a lot about this plot and decided that it would probably be best to get it down in writing now. I know that I set the main characters as the members of team 7, but honestly this story will focus a lot of all the individuals of that generation (Team 8, Team 10, Team Gai etc.) as well as individuals of similar age elsewhere. The focus will probably be just a BIT more centric on Sasuke and kind of Naruto, but the story as a whole will highlight all of them a decent amount (at least I hope based on how I envision the ideas!) Anyhow, let's go! I probably forgot to mention this earlier but everyone is 17 (obviously, Team Gai is 18).**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing**

 **Reviewer**

 **King of Konoha**

It has promise I can say that. Plus FF8 was one of my favorites. But I was wondering are you gonna add GFs to the story, or are the tailed beast something like GFs. Anyways looking forward to what could be a great story. Oh and remember while your writing this story remember to have fun cause if your not then what's the point. Cya

 **Haha thanks! I don't plan on taking the premise of FF8 THAT closely to warrant the usage of guardian forces. The tailed beasts might make an appearance as a small nod to the Naruto series (maybe just in name) but as for now it is a bit uncertain. Like I said, this idea was favored in my mind mostly because of exposition as the time from games I was revisiting at the time and I liked the concepts of the stories. It wasn't an idea that was tossed around in my head like the other fic was which honestly has huge amounts of it pre-planned. I'm still playing around with the idea of this fic in my head, so short answer is probably very unlikely. But you never know, something might stick to me idea wise and I'll weave it in. Thanks for the friendly reminder! I think having fun as a top priority is something every writer or aspiring writer should keep in mind!**

 **Chapter 2:** Nine

Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, and Shikamaru continued to walk along the hill towards the destination as Neji had went off to scout ahead. Sasuke had a rather distant look as he continued to randomly glare at the tower that was a bit further off in the distance. Sakura picked up on this and gave Sasuke a rather confused look the next time they made eye contact.

"So...is that guy that was on the broadcast your relative or something? I was told that your people were wiped out entirely…save for you," spoke Sakura.

"He….he killed them all," growled Sasuke after a few moments of silence.

"…All by himself? I was often taught that the Uchiha clan gave birth to gifted individuals in the art of combat," revealed Shikamaru.

"It was said he was the most gifted amongst all of them," muttered Sasuke.

"The details of that tragedy are so convoluted after so many years…..he really just took on your entire clan by himself?" Asked Sakura rather skeptically.

"…..He had some help….he temporarily allied himself with operatives from Earth…and displayed power that was beyond anything any of us could've ever imagined…," whispered Sasuke.

"Wait, he betrayed his own kind….and the Leaf?" Asked Shikamaru rather shocked.

"….It's none of your business what happened," spat out Sasuke as he narrowed his eyes.

Naruto walked quietly alongside his teammates as he played around with one of his weapons by swinging it around with one of his chains. He looked over to Sasuke and noticed the rather bitter look that was still on Sasuke's face causing Naruto to sigh.

"It's been a long time Sasuke….what about everything you taught me?" Asked Naruto rather quietly which caught the attention of everyone.

"Everyone has their weakness," growled Sasuke.

Within a few moments Neji suddenly landed before them before wiping some sweat on his brow. He looked up to his squad who then immediately saluted him before he nodded and got into a more relaxed pose.

"At ease, I've taken a look at the area ahead of us. There are some bodies of enemy mercs that all have injuries to vital areas with almost no sign of struggle. No doubt this is the work of STF, although I could see no sign of the supposed dangerous criminals anywhere or hear anything resembling a battle going on. If STF operates swept the area they must've made contact at one point….something is fishy about this so we need to be on our guard as we move up," ordered Neji.

The cadets nodded in affirmation before they dashed off with Neji to approach their destination. After a few moments of travel, Neji looked over to Shikamaru and gestured to get his attention.

"Can you give us a quick overview of your abilities? In the case that we must engage in combat, it is in our best interest to get a full understanding of what we can do. Naruto act's as our front while Sasuke and I pray on openings created through Naruto's aggression or Sakura's evasive and support tactics," explained Neji.

"I will probably act in a similar manner to Sakura. I don't really utilize any elements, most of my techniques are grounded in shadow manipulation. Most of my techniques are intended for capturing, binding, or stalling enemies, I don't have very many lethal techniques. My close quarters combat is probably subpar to average, I have a somewhat weak guard so I can't take too many strong physical hits," explained Shikamaru.

As the base of the communication tower came into sight for the squad, Neji gestured for his team to stop before he scanned the building once more with his Byakugan. Neji paused for a moment as his face scrunched up in confusion. He couldn't see a single individual within the buildings….no bodies…no sign of struggle…none of this seemed to add up.

"…..Do any of you guys think that our communications were hacked and someone impersonated Tenten?" Asked Neji.

"…..I'm going to guess that you don't see a single individual in that tower?" Asked Shikamaru.

"That's correct….no sign of struggle either….if the information we received was correct…none of these things are really making any sense at all….," pointed out Neji.

"Nonetheless….we don't have that many options right now, our navigation signals are jammed as well as our com devices. We could theoretically move back to the extraction point and see if anyone is there?" Suggested Shikamaru.

Neji sat in thought for a moment as he mulled over Shikamaru's words. This was definitely a viable move, they could regroup and see if any other groups could clarify the situation. However, if the information they received was true then that would mean the squad would have an extended stay trying to finish the mission at a delayed time while caught in between the STF and supposed dangerous criminals battling it out. The original mission briefing was supposed to be a liberation mission but if the lethality of the mission had increased as much as Tenten claimed to have…it would undoubtedly be turned into a search and extraction mission. Neji was shaken out of his thoughts as the device attached to his arm began making static noises before a small beeping. Neji looked over to it and noticed that new coordinates had been sent to his navigation tab. Neji looked it over and furrowed his brows in a mixture of confusion and frustration.

"It would seem….the coordinates Tenten meant to send just barely got through….it's giving me coordinates of the tower," explained Neji.

"…..So that was our designed location? What were we supposed to do there?" Asked Sasuke.

"No idea…..she was cut off before she could explain the nature of the task," murmured Neji.

"She used the word 'we' which would imply we are to at least meet up with her or some other operatives there," pointed out Shikamaru.

"That's true…..there is a chance we just got here before her squad could," chimed in Sakura.

"It is in our best interest to try and re-establish communications in the tower….if we were supposedly tasked with these coordinates it would be counterproductive to simply turn back and hope for the best," instructed Neji.

"The tower is empty according to you. It seems kind of fishy…it might not be best for all of us to casually enter," advised Shikamaru.

Neji was silent for a moment as he surveyed the tower and mulled over the recent discussions amongst the cadets. He let out a sigh as he turned around and faced his squad.

"Alright….what were all of your personal focuses at the academy?" Asked Neji as he eyed the four individuals.

"Tactical calculus with an emphasis in battle insight and strategical deployment," answered Sasuke.

"Infiltration with emphasis on espionage, recon and assassination," answered Sakura.

"Chakra manipulation with emphasis in sealing and trap creation," answered Shikamaru.

"Combat specialist emphasizing in elemental techniques and hand to hand," answered Naruto.

"Alright, Sakura and Shikamaru you take point. We'll stay roughly one floor below you since we can't exactly keep communication through radio. Scope out the leading area and come back for reports to make sure that nothing surprises us," ordered Neji.

The squad members saluted at Neji as they then made their way over to the base of the tower. As they reached the entrance, Shikamaru and Sakura looked at each other before nodding. Sakura closed her eyes in concentration and brought her hands together as if she was meditating. Her body then slowly began to fade away as it blended into the surroundings. Shikamaru walked into the tower and stopped just as he past the entrance doors. His body slowly became a rather opaque black with the exception of his eyes which turned pure white. He then stepped into the wall where his shadow was casted against before moving forward without making a sound.

"I can track Sakura with my Byakugan, we'll move forward after she seems to be able to secure the ground floor," explained Neji.

"I don't like this," grumbled Naruto. "If there really are high caliber enemies here there's no guarantee our counter-measures can protect Shikamaru and Sakura if they stumble blindly ahead like this. They would just be walking freely into a trap."

"Better to suffer two casualties than 5. Not to mention this information will be vital to anyone else around here," murmured Sasuke.

"A bit callous….but he is correct….we cannot guarantee full safety for all of us…the best we can do is mitigate the possible harms," replied Neji.

Neji gazed around for a bit before he made eye contact with Sakura in the floor above. She gave him a hand gesture and he nodded before gesturing for Sasuke and Naruto to follow in with him. As they entered in, they gazed around the room and noticed a lot of electronic equipment that seemed to be disabled as well as several tables and chairs situated around the sides.

"Not a sign of a struggle anywhere…all furniture is situated in an orderly fashion…none of the equipment seems damaged either," murmured Sasuke.

"Yes, you can see why I was apprehensive to enter here in the first place…..this all rubs me the wrong way," muttered Neji.

"Hey, what kinda history does this little portside town have?" Asked Naruto. "This tower here seems kinda outplace given what the town square and the docks looked like."

"This town is a pretty good example of what happens when you try to artificially accelerate a town's growth before it is ready for it and before you can handle the consequences," revealed Neji.

"What do you mean?" Asked Naruto.

"This town sits comfortably in the neutral border zone between Fire country and Water country. This means that hired mercenary work in this part is split down between influences from Leaf and Mist operatives. Despite the less than friendly terms between both countries in terms of politics, the military institutions have an agreement of neutrality in which we do not actively enforce our influence on the town and allow it to freely choose whom it wishes to hire," explained Neji.

"What's that have anything to do with the contrast in technology?" Asked Naruto with a rather baffled look on his face.

"The environmental makeup of this geographical position is a hybrid of the thick forests in Fire country as well as the vast amounts of aquatic reserves in Water country, this is what makes the surrounding area here to be mostly made of swamps and woodlands. This means that the land around here is rather fertile and ideal for agricultural and farming purposes. The town here isn't particularly large nor is it a huge trading ground meaning that its economic development has never really been spurred. This combined with the fact it is not part of a larger nation means that it never had the proper backing to develop scientifically either."

"So….did we come in and just give them technology?" Asked Naruto.

"In a manner of speaking, yes. Both nations attempted to assist in development and gave the town access to technology that was far ahead of its time. However, right after the Third Great War, all nations retreated back a bit to recover and lick their wounds. This left this small town stuck on its own with access to advanced technology and no way to properly utilize it or defend themselves….and that's how we arrive to the situation we are in now," explained Neji.

Before Neji could continue with his explanation, he noticed Sakura making rather rapid hand gestures towards him with a rather worried look on her face.

"C'mon, seems like we got company ahead, let's go," ordered Neji.

Naruto and Sasuke both nodded as they quickly made their way over towards the next set of staircases that would bring them up. As they were about halfway up, Sakura appeared into view as Shikamaru seemed to step out of the walls and resume his normal skin pigmentation.

"I…I'm not 100% sure, but as I started to scout out this room, I felt a very odd chakra signature spread around and I think this room is under an illusion. I asked Shikamaru about it and he also agrees, he can make a seal to release a disruptive pulse but we wanted to make sure to see if you could tell if the original caster of the illusion is here first. The pulse would most definitely notify anyone nearby," explained Sakura.

Neji focused more chakra into his byakugan as he looked around the room. He could see faint traces of the chakra that Sakura had referred to but he couldn't pinpoint whether or not an individual was still in the room.

"Hmmm, I can't see anyone but that might just be because I lack the ability to do so…use the seal Shikamaru. We'll just have to be on our guard," instructed Neji.

Shikamaru nodded and the rest of the squad took up a defensive battle stance as Shikamaru took out a piece of paper from his pouch and began drawing various symbols on it. After a few moments, he focused his chakra into his work and the characters began glowing blue before he placed the seal against the wall. After several moments, a chakra pulse was released from it and reality seemed to liquefy as it seemed like their surroundings began to swirl. As the illusion was wiped away, the individuals noticed that the room remained relatively the same, but there was now a masked individual standing over by the terminal.

"Impressive…..I did not expect there to be someone of such caliber on this mission," complimented the masked individual.

"Identify yourself," demanded Neji.

"Relax, I am not your enemy. I am a member of STF that was told to defuse the situation," explained the individual.

"…..Can you prove your identity?" Questioned Sasuke.

"Hah, good instincts kid, never trust a stranger," smirked the individual as he pulled a dog tag from his pocket that had the letters STF embossed on one end and the letters GHOST on the other.

"How do we know you didn't just pick that up from a corpse?" Asked Shikamaru rather suspiciously.

"Well well well, your instincts aren't bad. Here's your proof, only the original holder of the tag can do this," said the individual as he focused some Chakra into the tag causing the letters GHOST to glow.

"He's right, the dog tags are attuned specifically to an individual's chakra when they are inducted into the STF," confirmed Neji as he relaxed his posture.

"Where's the rest of your team?" Asked Shikamaru?

"I am a solo operative in the hunter division," responded the individual as he turned his attention back to the terminal and began typing.

"What're you doing?" Asked Sakura.

"Trying to check the logs to see if anything can explain what happened here," explained the operative.

"Do you know why this area is empty? Or anything to do with the broadcast we heard earlier from the supposed Uchiha Itachi?" Questioned Neji.

"Yes….Uchiha Itachi is not here….our scouts confirmed it before comms was jammed. We're unsure who actually broadcasted the message. As for this station, no idea why it's empty," replied the operative.

"Is there anything in the terminals that can help us?" Asked Sasuke.

"So far…no, why don't you three head up and see if you can unjam our communications. Careful, I haven't scouted the top yet," informed the operative.

Neji, Naruto, Sasuke, and Shikamaru all nodded before they dashed off up the final stretch of the stairs. As they reached the top of the tower they gazed around and noticed a group of individuals crowding a terminal below the giant satellite dish. The individuals were all wearing black cloaks with red clouds displayed on them.

"….Is that what the individual you ran into earlier looked like?" Asked Neji as he turned to Shikamaru.

"Yeah, they had those on…..but something is weird about their skin pigmentation," murmured Shikamaru as looked at the individuals that were almost completely black.

Before anyone else could comment, one of the individuals turned around and took notice of the four newcomers before he grunted and got the attention of the others. All of the individuals turned and stared at the Leaf squad with their glowing white eyes before grunting and charging forward.

"Kill or detain?" Asked Sasuke as he got into a battle stance.

"Try and keep at least one alive," instructed Neji as he dashed forward and delivered a palm strike to one of the incoming enemies.

Naruto charged forward and sidestepped the attack of one of the leading enemies. He then turned around and did a sweep kick which knocked down two incoming enemies. He spun around again and quickly blocked the punch of the individual who had stumbled past him. Naruto then grabbed the enemy's wrist and tossed him over his shoulder and caused him to collapse on the two knocked down individuals. As the downed individuals scrambled to get on their feet, Naruto focused Chakra to his palms before slapping them together rather hard.

 **Wind Style: Great Breakthrough**

A rather large gust of wind was expelled from Naruto's hands as they closed in on the three individuals and blasted them off the tower.

"I disabled one, get rid of the rest," ordered Neji as he sat atop one of the individuals who was struggling beneath him.

Shikamaru nodded as he turned his attention towards three onlookers and then put his hands together as he crouched over. Shikamaru's shadow then seemed to dart forward before splitting into several thinner lines.

 **Secret Technique: Tendrils of Darkness**

The thin lines suddenly shot out from the ground and pierced through the midsection of each of the individuals as they let out grunts of pain and became motionless after a few seconds.

"Woah! We need to spar sometime; I wanna test out my chains against your shadows!" Declared Naruto as he observed Shikamaru in action.

Sakura turned to her side to avoid a punch aimed at her shoulder as she leaned back and allowed the clumsy attacker to slide forward and fall on his face. She then used her spinning momentum to deliver an outside kick that struck the face of another individual to her side. As the two individuals struggled to stand up, Sakura put her hands in front of each of their faces before gathering some Chakra to her hands causing them to glow white. The two individuals grunted and struggled to stand upright as they suddenly stumbled a bit as blood came out of their ears and they eventually lost their balance and fell off the tower.

"Jesus, what did you do?" Asked Neji as he raised his eyebrows.

"Released a sound at an extremely high decibel and blew out their eardrums which caused them to lose their balance," responded Sakura as she shrugged.

Sasuke was a little put out at the fact that none of them came after him, but he supposed that not having to be forced into combat wasn't necessarily a good thing. He watched his comrades finish off with the remaining odd individuals before he turned his attention to Neji.

"I'm gonna see if I can get communications running again," said Sasuke as he walked over to the terminal.

"So…what exactly…are these…..things?" Asked Naruto as he eyed the struggling individual that Neji was sitting on.

"No idea….doubt it's even intelligible enough to say anything….but we might keep it captured for the higher ups; see if an autopsy sheds light on the situation," explained Neji.

"Well well well…..can't have that can we?" Muttered an amused voice from above.

The Leaf squad all directed their attention towards the new voice as they noticed a strange individual wearing the black robe with red clouds as he sat on the inside of the giant satellite dish. He had a strange contraption over one eye and had a blonde ponytail.

"You….," murmured Neji as he narrowed his eyes to get a better look at the individual's facial features.

"Oh? Does my reputation precede me? Chuckled the individual.

"Who is that?" Asked Sakura as she gazed over to Neji.

"I've seen his face in the bingo books a few time. Deidara, he used to be an Earth operative before he went rogue and turned to criminal activities," revealed Neji.

"Former Earth operative? What the hell are you doing all the way out here?" Asked Naruto.

"Hah, what kind of moron would ever explain his plans to those who are out to get him," laughed Deidara as he turned his attention to Neji.

"My partner wouldn't be very pleased if you managed to scrap information from his…minions," sneered Deidara as he snapped his fingers.

The Leaf squad were a bit confused as nothing seemed to happen, but Shikamaru felt Chakra suddenly gathering at the strange creature that Neji was sitting on. Shikamaru's eyes widened as he shoved Neji back.

"Get down!" Yelled out Shikamaru as he crouched over and brought his hands together.

They all quickly heeded his order without hesitation and brought themselves close to the ground as Shikamaru's shadow suddenly came out from the ground and formed a strange kind of arched wall over them to provide cover as the creature exploded.

"Hahaha, well well well….I guess even children like you have tricks up their sleeves," smirked Deidara as he suddenly appeared behind them all.

"Sasuke! Get communications online and call for help; we'll buy you some time," yelled out Neji.

Sasuke quickly nodded as he turned his attention back over the terminal and quickly scrambled for a way to unjam the signal frequency in the area.

"Please, you children and your squabbles are below my pay grade. I don't have time to deal with you, besides, my work here is done," scoffed Deidara as he turned and prepared to leave.

"Fortunately….someone like you isn't quite below MY pay grade," spoke the masked individual from the floor below as he appeared at the entrance.

"Hmph…a single STF operative thinks he can apprehend me? I feel just a tad bit insulted," mocked Deidara.

"He won't be alone," snarled Neji as he got into a battle stance.

"Stay back, you all need to defend your teammate that's getting comms back up….you are all too inexperienced to deal with an opponent of this magnitude; you would simply get in my way," said the STF operative.

Neji was about to protest before he clenched his teeth and realized that this operative was most likely correct. This battle was far beyond him and his squad and they had more pressing issues at hand. He gestured to fall back towards Naruto and Sakura as they stood near Sasuke and kept their eye on Deidara.

"I've killed many top operatives from around the world much like you….what makes you think you're any different," smirked Deidara as he released several paper looking birds from his cloak.

"I assure you…if you managed to kill them then they are NOT like me," replied the operative as he pulled out a scroll and a brush.

The STF operative seemed to draw rapidly across the scroll before he put away his brush and put his hands together. The scroll began to glow as several birds, composed of what seemed to be ink, flew out of the scroll and collided with the paper creations of Deidara. An explosion of smoke and ink covered the area as Neji and his squad lifted their hands to cover their faces from incoming debris. As the dust and smoke began to die down, Neji looked forward and saw the operative draw a short sword attached to his back and swing it at Deidara who proceeded to pull a knife from within his cloak and block. The two exchange strikes for a few moments before Deidara jumped back a bit and tossed several pellets towards the operative. The STF operative swiped at them with his blade and they all released smoke and obscured the vision of all surrounding individuals.

"Aw shit," coughed out the operative as he waved away some of the smoke and noticed bits of clay all around him.

The operative quickly jumped to avoid the brunt of the explosion but still suffered some damage in the air from being at the edge of the combustion. Deidara then appeared above him and kicked him off to the side causing the operative to hit the ground and bounce before falling off the side of the tower. The operative quickly reached up and managed to grab at the edge before Deidara landed in front of him.

"No….I'd say you're just pretty similar to all the other operatives," smirked Deidara as he lifted his foot up.

From the corner of his eye, Deidara noticed Neji rushing at him while readying a palm strike. Deidara quickly turned around and grabbed Neji's wrist and hoisted him up before the attack could connect. Before Deidara could say anything, several chains darted and attempted to skewer Deidara. Deidara scowled before tossing Neji back and rolling off to the side to avoid the chains.

"Bah, you pesky mosquitos….I can't believe I was going to let you live," growled Deidara as he attempted to lift his hand to create more of his clay.

"Ah…..the great thing about famous evil people like you….is that they have such low expectations of us," smirked Shikamaru as he gestured downward towards his and Deidara's connected shadow.

"Let him have it, Sakura," said Shikamaru as he gestured over to the pink-haired girl.

Sakura nodded as she gathered chakra to her palms and thrust them forward. A rather large boom was heard atop the tower as Sakura released a pressurized sound wave that hit Deidara squarely in the chest. The second it collided with Deidara, there was a massive explosion that kicked debris in the air.

"Whew…that was close….in a few more years, you could be a rather scary pink-haired monster," smirked Deidara as he sat on the inside of the satellite dish once again.

"Not a bad plan pineapple head….but I didn't become a notorious criminal for losing to snot-faced brats like you guys," chucked Deidara as he jumped back down.

"I dunno…..you look like you were starting to struggle," chuckled the operative who managed to get back on his feet.

Before Deidara could retort, a sound off in the distance behind him caught Deidara's attention. He turned his head briefly and looked down the stairs before his eyes widened and he quickly leapt to the side. What could only be described as a seemingly violent vortex burst out from the stair entry and tore up the area that Deidara was standing in moments ago. The rapid rotations began to slow after a few seconds and ended revealing Kiba who was breathing rather hard and was a bit irritated at his missed attack.

"More idiots? You guys keep popping up like bugs," spoke Deidara rather annoyed.

"Funny you should say bugs," smirked Kiba as he pointed upwards towards the sky.

Deidara glanced up and noticed a dark swarm gathering above him before he groaned and leapt back before tossing pieces of clay into the swarm causing an explosion.

"Did you really have a good reason for pointing that out, Kiba?" Asked Shino as he calmly walked up from the stairway with his hands in his pocket. "The only thing you managed to succeed in doing was destroying part of my swarm."

"I was-," started Kiba.

Shino immediately interrupted," no, there is not an answer that is satisfactory."

"E-eh….m-maybe n-n-next time you should w-wait b-before s-saying s-something, K-Kiba," stuttered Hinata as she walked up next from the entry with her Byakugan active while poking her index fingers together.

Neji frowned a bit as he glanced at Hinata before he turned his attention towards Sasuke.

"I take it you finally managed to unjam communications?"

"You got that right!" Shouted out Tenten as she jumped out from the entry and tossed several kunai at Deidara.

Deidara deflected several and caught two with his hands before he looked over at Tenten and merely sighed.

"Why….would you even think that would do anything to me at all?"

Tenten gave him a rather bored look before she took out another kunai and gestured at the hilt with her finger. Deidara raised his eyebrows before taking a closer before he gave out a frustrated sigh as he noticed the explosive tags.

"Oh for fu-," began Deidara before being cut off by an explosion.

Everyone lifted their hands up a bit to shield their eyes from the incoming force, but Tenten merely narrowed her eyes before she drew a sword and quickly dashed into the smoke. Sounds of metal clashing with metal could be heard by everyone else as they waited for the smoke to clear before it revealed Tenten pushing her sword up against Deidara's knife.

"Well well, you have surprisingly good eyes," sneered Deidara.

"You know what they say," my eyesight is always 20/20," smirked Tenten.

"I gotta ask….who even says that?" Asked Deidara rather flabbergasted.

"I do!" Shouted Tenten before she attempted to knee Deidara in the gut.

Deidara quickly jumped back and growled as he took note of all the surrounding opponents. He grit his teeth and mashed both his hands together before tossing them up in the air to reveal a swarm of humming birds in the sky that all began to dart downward.

"You know…this was supposed to be a quick and clean job…but nooooo. You brats just HAD to go and pretend to be heroes," sighed Deidara.

Everybody readied themselves as the swarm of clay humming birds began to rain down towards them. At the last moment, a rather large blue bubble surrounded everyone and it interrupted the assault as all the clay birds exploded upon collision. As the attack ended, the Leaf squad moved their arms away and noticed Ino standing in front of them breathing rather hard as she had both hands up in the air and her eyes were glowing blue.

"Wow, I didn't think you could put up such a strong barrier over such a large area of space," observed Chouji as he munched on some chips while he came up from the stairway while followed by Lee.

"HERE I AM TO SAVE THE DAY!" Yelled out Lee as he did several fighting poses.

"ARE YOU SHITTING ME?" Shouted out Deidara to nobody in particular.

"That's….that's all I got," wheezed out Ino as she dropped her barrier and fell to her knees.

"You know what…fuck this, I don't need to be here to take this," mumbled Deidara as he pulled out two small clay birds from his hands.

Deidara made some handseals before gathering chakra for a moment which caused the birds to expand in size. Deidara then jumped onto one of the birds in the sky before flipping off the leaf squads.

"See you punks later," muttered Deidara.

"No, you're not getting away!" Shouted out the operative as he began painting furiously on his scroll.

"Yes…I AM!" Shouted Deidara rather violently before he directed the other giant bird towards the satellite support.

The bird collided with the support and exploded causing most of the column to be blown apart. The front end of the giant dish began tipping forward and threatening to crush everyone at the roof. Everyone began to attempt to scatter and find cover but Chouji quickly ran over to the partially destroyed support and began trying to pull it back. Chouji gathered Chakra to his hands as they both expanded and began to grow in size as he attempted to re-stabilize the satellite dish.

"Get outta here! I can't hold it for much longer," grunted Chouji as the support slowly began slipping forward from his hands.

Sakura quickly ran to Chouji's side before she put her hands together and closed her eyes while she gathered Chakra. After a few moments, Sakura began to become enshrouded by a glowing white aura. She then opened her eyes which now were glowing pure white and slowly, a rather large white avatar of Sakura's upper body appeared above her that seemed to mimic her body movements. The avatar then grabbed the edge of the satellite dish and seemed to struggle for a few moments along Chouji before they both ripped the rest of the dish off the support and threw it off the roof a far distance.

"Wait! Where is Itachi!" Screamed out Sasuke as he ran towards the edge of the roof in the direction that Deidara was flying off too.

"What kinda stupid question is that?" Laughed Deidara as he slowly disappeared off into the distance

Sasuke yelled out in frustration before punching the ground and looking at the small town at the base of the tower.

"…..What if there were people there?" Asked Naruto as he watched the giant dish smash into the ground off into the distance.

"Sucks for them," scoffed Sasuke as he exhaled and sat down on the ground.

* * *

"While the mission strayed away from its original parameters, I'm proud to say that you all still managed to perform wonderfully and adapted to the situation well," praised Iruka as he stood before all the participating cadets.

"Unfortunately, amongst you all, the council as well as the headmaster only selected 9 individuals to become promoted to the ranks of the Leaf operatives. Do not be saddened if you are not called, most graduating classes are about the size of seven to ten graduates," continued Iruka.

Iruka toward around toward his desks before fetching 9 headbands all embossed with the insignia of the Leaf.

"When I call your name, please step forward and accept your headband," announced Iruka.

"Uchiha Sasuke."

"Aburame Shino."

"Haruno Sakura."

"Uzumaki Naruto."

"Yamanaka Ino."

"Akimichi Chouji."

"Hyuuga Hinata."

"Inuzuka Kiba."

"Nara Shikamaru."

Iruka finished with the list as the nine of them lined up before Iruka and saluted him. Iruka nodded and hand each of them their headbands before returning to his position at the front.

"All of you, you are to report to the headmasters office as he debriefs you on your new daily responsibilities as Leaf operatives," instructed Iruka as he dismissed them.

* * *

"You have all been inducted to the ranks of the Leaf operatives within this military academy. From this day forward, you are recognized as a mercenary member of our organization and will be given assigned missions for the benefit of this academy. Alongside your headbands which denotes your allegiance, you will also be provided with this device in order to be linked up and be kept up to date with your responsibilities," explained Hiruzen as he took a puff of his pipe.

"This device will allow for easy communication amongst squad members of a mission, provided it is linked up beforehand. It also transmits and can store data for personal and mission use. Essentially, carrying this around keeps you linked up with the academy," explained Hiruzen as he attached the thin device to each new Leaf operative.

Hiruzen took another puff before he noticed an individual standing at the doorway of his office. He silently nodded and gestured at the new graduates to dismiss them as he gestured for the individual to step forward.

"Alright…before we discuss your actions….what do you have to report to me?"

"Sir…..we have a bit of an issue on our hands…"

 **TBC**

 **Whew, that took much longer than I thought it would as I was slightly unsure how to do the ending. I know a lot of the supposed actions scenes seemed to cut short, but that's mostly because instead of a huge battle, the scene is supposed to preview a bit of everyone's unique individual ability. I couldn't quite fit everyone in (Sorry Hinata and Lee!) but it'll all come together eventually. Anyhow, I plan on updating TJ, TB, ATDOW very soon. The next chapter of that will most definitely be posted before chapter 3 of this.**


	3. Ace of Spades

**Hi guys! Back again with another chapter! I've been finding newfound motivation to write lately for both this story and TB, TJ, ATDOW so that's a good thing!**

 **Review(s)**

Guest: This universe is interesting and I like the fact that everyone seems normal, there aren't any god-like characters.

I read your A/N about how you want to focus on all the characters of Naruto's generation. In my opinion, fics that try to focus on a bunch of characters always end up failing on the character development. (Hell, Kishi did, too. He had 15 years to properly develop Naruto's generation and couldn't do it. Everyone outside of Team 7 Shikamaru got shafted.) The first chapter was nice because you focused on Sasuke and Naruto's friendship, so it felt like we were starting to get to know those characters. The second chapter is kind of all over the place because a bunch of characters are introduced and they are all running around battling. If this was an original fic and I didn't already know who all of these people are, I would be very confused. It's just my opinion that it's better to have a small group of main characters whose emotional and intellectual development you want us to follow, and just leave the rest as plot fodder/side characters.

 **I totally agree with what you're saying! I guess I phrased it kinda poorly though in my original A/N. I think having the focus spread out amongst a lot of characters does indeed detract from development, but I guess a better way of saying what I plan on doing is that even though I'll try and develop a lot of the characters, it'll all be done relative to their relation to Naruto and Sasuke. The fic will be centered around those 2 more so than others, but there will be core points in the story based on how those 2 interact with the rest of the cast which would probably give off a feel in which there will be spread out focus amongst character development. Yeah, the second chapter was pretty messy in terms of how I introduced a ton of characters. BUT TO BE FAIR, I do expect readers of Naruto fanfiction to be KINDA familiar with the characters at least. I did it that way so that people would get a glimpse of the new unique abilities that I'm arming each of the characters with that aren't really canon. I agree though, it probably could've been done much cleaner. Thanks for the feedback!**

 **Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING**

 **Chapter 3:** Ace of Spades

"Hey wake up, Sasuke!"

Sasuke groaned as his eyes slowly opened and stared at his white ceiling for a few seconds before blinking rapidly and rubbing his eyes. He sat up a bit and saw Naruto with a rather excited look on his face.

"What's with the excitement?" Groaned Sasuke as he tried to shake off his drowsiness.

"We get our first assignment today! C'mon!" Shouted Naruto as he walked over and began poking at Sasuke.

"Ngh….is that it? Bleh," scowled Sasuke as he swatted away Naruto's hand and slowly got up before yawning and stretching.

"C'mon! You're gonna make us late!" Pouted Naruto as he crossed his arms.

"Ugh, fine…..whatever," muttered Sasuke as he shooed Naruto out of his room and proceeded to change and enter the bathroom.

After a couple of moments, Sasuke exited his room after performing the usual morning activities. He grabbed an apple out of a bowl in the kitchen before he exited his dormitory and met up with Naruto who was leaning against the wall nearby.

"Finally!" Sighed Naruto rather dramatically as he threw his hands up in the air.

"You didn't have to wait for me," pointed out Sasuke as he raised his eyebrows.

"Whatever! C'mon, the headmaster is waiting for us at the main gate to debrief us!" Called out Naruto as he began walking a bit faster.

"Jesus, what's with you? It's just a mission," muttered Sasuke as he picked up his pace to match Naruto.

"DUDE! We're LEAF operatives now, no longer cadets….full-fledged OPERATIVES," grinned Naruto.

"Yes….we definitely are," agreed Sasuke rather sarcastically as he rolled his eyes.

"Dude….C'mon, aren't you even a LITTLE excited?" Asked Naruto.

"No, the expected thing happened….I tend to not really get excited over something so expected," answered Sasuke rather lazily.

Sasuke and Naruto walked for several minutes in silence as they passed amongst other students in the halls of the academy before they found themselves standing in front of the main gate where the headmaster as well as Inuzuka Kiba and Yamanaka Ino were waiting.

"Ah, there you are," smiled the headmaster as Naruto and Sasuke both saluted. "Right on time, I was just about to brief these two."

"Alright, listen up, your mission contract entails you to travel to another small town within the neutral borders of Fire and Water country. It is in the northern area which almost makes it standing in between Lightning country as well. This town is known as the Land of the Waves and has recently been seized by a crime boss known as Gato. Initially he was using the town as a hideout and conducted somewhat normal business and dealings, but has recently seized control of the ports and shipping businesses causing the town to slowly become impoverished. Now, he controls most aspects of the town and a resistance group has hired us to liberate the town with whatever means necessary," explained Sarutobi.

"We have to take on an underground crime ring?...Just….the 4 of us?" Asked Kiba as he eyed his 3 teammates.

"Hmm, unfortunate, but yes. The payout to us is not particularly high which is why this group is rather small. For the most part, you'll mostly be dealing with low level criminals as Gato is not known to hire dangerous outlaws," informed Sarutobi.

"How are we getting to our destination?" Asked Ino.

"Your client will arrive momentarily and you'll travel with him via a vehicle to your destination. From there, you will work with him until the mission is completed. I've uploaded the details of the contract to your Leafpoint device," instructed Sarutobi.

"Is there anything else we need to know?" Asked Sasuke as he crossed his arms

"Yes, we have decided that you will act as leader of this mission, Sasuke," revealed Sarutobi.

Kiba looked a little annoyed at this fact as he glanced sideways at Sasuke's face which remained cold and unmoving. Ino and Naruto merely nodded as they saluted at Sarutobi one more time.

"Ah, here comes your client now," pointed out Sarutobi as he gazed off to the side.

The four operatives turned their attention to where their headmaster was looking and noticed an older gentlemen with a straw hat on.

"This is what we're paying for? I was sent here to pick up four brats?" Asked the client rather unimpressed as he crossed his arms.

"The alternative is to be killed by four brats," scowled Kiba as he glared at the client.

"Let's not threaten our client and get off the wrong foot," scolded Ino.

"Greetings, my name is Uchiha Sasuke and I'm the captain of this squad that will accompany you," introduced Sasuke as he stuck out his hand.

The client looked at Sasuke's hand and then at his face while retaining his rather unimpressed and somewhat annoyed facial expression.

"My name is Tazuna….my grandson, Inari, is the one who paid for your….services," murmured Tazuna as he ignored Sasuke's hand.

Sasuke raised his eyebrows but did not say anything as he turned to his team. Kiba seemed to be fuming a bit while Ino and Naruto remained indifferent. Sarutobi gestured in front of them to a vehicle that had arrived and Sasuke nodded as he proceeded to enter along with his team as well as Tazuna. The five of them sat in silence as Sasuke reviewed the contract terms off his Leafpoint.

"So….you guys are fully trained operatives of the Leaf academy?" Asked Tazuna rather hesitantly.

"No, we're children who grew up playing in the woods; what do you think?" Scowled Kiba sarcastically.

"Manners, Kiba," scolded Ino as she smacked the back of Kiba's head. "But yes, we have spent many years training and are a part of the elite mercenary force of Fire country known as the Leaf."

"Kind of a weird name, isn't it?" Asked Tazuna. "I mean…Fire country….and Leaf? Those two things don't seem to go hand in hand."

"It's not like we had a hand in picking our name. Does it really matter? It's just something to call ourselves by. Does it bother you that Fire country also isn't on fire?" Asked Sasuke sarcastically.

"Well no….but, it was just weird to think about," muttered Tazuna.

"Every country has their own academy of operatives that act as an elite mercenary force for hire that acts independently of the army of that respective country. Wind country has Sand, Water country has Mist, Earth country has Rock, Lightning country has Cloud, and Fire country has the Leaf," explained Ino.

"Do…do you think we'll run into other operatives that Gato hired to protect himself?" Asked Tazuna rather hesitantly.

"Unlikely, Gato is a wanted criminal for a list of crimes; some big, some small. While we technically have no bylaws against it….the academies have an unspoken agreement not to take contracts from wanted criminals. The worst that could happen is he hires operatives who have gone rogue and become criminals by our standards. However, you heard our headmaster; Gato is not known to do such things," stated Naruto.

"How do you differentiate a wanted criminal and a resistance group? Surely it must seem strange to attack a larger group that asserts control as opposed to a smaller group trying to rally revolution," pointed out Tazuna.

"You want us to work with Gato instead?" Asked Naruto who had become rather amused. "It is up to our discretion. Typically the country's own military forces deal with such things but I suppose the aftermath of the war is still felt by Water country and Gato was never a big blip on their radar for quite some time until now.

Tazuna nodded apprehensively and the five sat in silence for some time as they waited to arrive at their destination. As the evening began to roll by, the vehicle came to a stop which Sasuke took as a sign to exit the vehicle along with his squad. As they all exited, the window rolled down by the driver seat and Sasuke and the driver shared a nod before the vehicle turned around and began heading back in the direction of the academy.

"So….what now?" Asked Kiba as he looked at the docking area they had just been let off at.

"There's a boat waiting for us just up ahead. It won't be far, I live near the edge of the town," explained Tazuna as he gestured for the Leaf members to follow him.

True to his word, a boat was indeed waiting for them and the ride did not take particularly long. Although the individual who was rowing had claimed that they had to take it somewhat slow as to not garner any attention from excess noise. After nearly half an hour, the 5 of them found themselves standing in front of a small house. Several moments after Tazuna knocked on the door, a lady in what seemed to be her early thirties with long black hair answered the door.

"Ah, dad! Glad to see you back….and you all must be part of the help that my son organized. My name is Tsunami," greeted Tsunami as she ushered the 5 individuals into the house.

"I heard the door! Who is it?" Called out a voice from upstairs.

"Your grandfather has returned," answered Tsunami.

The sound of running footsteps was heard upstairs for a few moments before a young teenager came bouncing down the stairs in a fisherman's hat and donning a set of overalls.

"You're here! You're here at last!" Cheered the kid as he threw his hands up in the air and had a rather large smile.

"Ah hello there, you must be Inari," smiled Ino as she walked forward and stuck out her hand.

"Hello, my name is Uchiha Sasuke. The blonde girl is Yamanaka Ino, the blonde guy Uzumaki Naruto, and the boy in the hoodie is Inuzuka Kiba," introduced Sasuke as he stood forward and offered his hand as well.

"I'm sure you're all hungry from the long trip, why don't you all stay for dinner," suggested Tsunami as she gestured to the dining room.

* * *

Sasuke and Naruto walked quietly as they opened the door to the house and headed outside before turning their attention towards the lake underneath the night sky. It was nearing midnight now and all was silent with the exception of a few crickets.

"Trouble sleeping?" Asked Sasuke as he noticed Ino floating above the water in a meditative position with her eyes closed and Kiba simply letting his legs dangle over the water.

"I mostly slept on the way here during the ride," responded Ino as she kept her eyes closed.

Sasuke turned his attention over to Kiba who was kicking his legs back and forth over the water and also had his face scrunched up as if in deep concentration. After a few moments, Kiba looked up and noticed Sasuke raising his eyebrows at him.

"Huh? Oh….I get kinda restless during full moons," murmured Kiba as he returned his attention back to the water and his reflection.

"What about you two?" Asked Ino as stood up over the water and walked back to solid ground.

"Yeah….kinda excited about being on the mission," smiled Naruto sheepishly as he scratched his head.

Ino chuckled a bit to herself and turned her attention over to Sasuke with a rather apprehensive look.

"My entire family was killed on a night like this," answered Sasuke as he looked up to the moon with his arms crossed.

Silence fell amongst the four for a while as nobody really felt comfortable talking after Sasuke's revelation. They all simply watched the moon for a while as the crickets chirped on.

"So….what do you think Inari is going to have us do?" Asked Kiba as he gazed out into the vast lake.

"Does it matter?" Questioned Ino.

"Ino's right, we do what it takes to fulfill our contract. That means following through with Inari until he completes his goal," stated Sasuke.

It was an interesting thought for Sasuke as he finally voiced it out loud. It wasn't exactly a surprising sentiment as they were technically just a mercenary force, but it was a bit unsettling to Sasuke that he was going to do whatever it was that someone else commanded of him because of a piece of paper. A gust of wind blew by as the four operatives continued to stare out into the distance in the silence of the night.

 _Eh….a job is a job…_

* * *

"So….what's the plan, resistance leader?" Drawled Kiba as he felt into the couch and sat down along with Inari and the rest of the Leaf members.

"Gato rarely makes public appearances even though everyone is aware of his presence. It's mostly his hired arms that walk around and carry out his will; most likely because he's worried about pocket resistance groups that exist in the area," explained Inari.

"What do you need us to do?" Asked Ino.

"One of the larger buildings on the northern end of the city seems to be the most likely place that Gato hides out in, we need to gain entrance to that building," revealed Inari as he pulled out a map of the town.

"….Seems to be the most likely?" Questioned Sasuke as he narrowed his eyes.

"…Well…..my sources and I aren't one hundred percent sure…..but it seems more probable than anywhere else," murmured Inari.

"We can talk details later," dismissed Ino. "What's next?"

"We haven't been able to get the schematics of the building….but we know for a fact that there are a lot of security measures. Even though you guys are elites, I'd rather not force this operation into a position where we have to take on Gato's private army."

"Understandable," nodded Naruto. "What's next on the plan?"

"Part of the security measures is having proper identification. Although most of the typical thieves and bandits he hires don't have clearance to enter that building, we've found one individual who does," revealed Inari.

"You need us to deal with this individual then?" Assumed Sasuke as he looked at the markings that Inari was making on the map.

"Yes….but very little is known about this guy, he's new and he doesn't seem like the typical thug that Gato hires. He also seems rather young," explained Inari. "He ventures out into the forest to the east sometimes…to do….well, we're not sure. The guy is kinda…off, following him makes us nervous."

Sasuke facepalmed before he sighed and looked up at Inari, "fine, we'll deal with this guy and take his identification. What exactly is it that's used for clearance?"

"Uh,….we're not that sure either to be honest," admitted Inari.

"….What exactly ARE you sure of?" Asked Kiba rather annoyed at the vague information.

"Erm….we know that…he looks like a girl?" Answered Inari rather meekly.

"…..Joy," muttered Kiba.

* * *

"Do you suppose this guy is dangerous?" Asked Naruto as he walked through the forest with Ino.

"Anything is possible…considering that he's apparently quite strange and young apparently," responded Sasuke over Leafpoint.

"….How should we engage the target?" Asked Ino.

"Capture if possible….any additional information will be helpful considering we aren't working with much….but if it gets out of hand, dispose of him," ordered Sasuke.

"What do you suppose he even does in this forest?" Asked Ino.

"Meh, who cares, let's get this job done and get paid," answered Naruto rather nonchalantly.

"Why the sudden indifference? You said you were excited about the mission last night."

"Eh, I dunno. The novelty of being a professional merc kind of died randomly as I woke up this morning. I guess the high of passing the exam is finally gone," shrugged Naruto.

They walked in silence for several minutes before Ino's eyes suddenly narrowed and she stretched out her hand to gesture to Naruto to stop moving. He looked at her rather curiously before her eyes began to glow blue as well as her left hand. She waved it in front of her briefly and then turned to Naruto.

"He's….close by, just ahead I think," said Ino.

"….What? How…what….what exactly are you doing?" Asked Naruto rather flabbergasted.

"My clan is known for our techniques involving manipulation of the mind or psyche, this is why many Yamanaka's end up working in an interrogation department when it comes to this line of work," explained Ino.

"Okay…..so….what exactly are you doing?

"A very specific technique is one where we create an astral projection of ourselves composed entirely of Chakra that houses of consciousness. This allowed us to temporarily take control of another individual's body for a few moments given that we could overpower them mentally."

"That sounds….like a terrifying experience…for both sides."

"My mother had a strange genetic mutation involving her Chakra nodes in which she had an exceptional ability of focus when compounding and gather Chakra to a single point. It was claimed that her ability was so great that her astral construct was almost invisible to the naked eye and at time could interact with her surrounding environment."

"Wow….so…was that gift passed to you?"

"Sort of, I went through extensive genetic engineering during my mother's pregnancy as well as various laboratory experiments when I was a child.

"What….did it do for you exactly?"

"Well, the short story is that they wanted to replicate my mother's ability in me but her ability was so poorly documented that they were really just kind of shooting in the dark. What ended up happening was that they installed various microscopic devices that act as a Chakra amp when it comes to fine-tune control. Unfortunately, while this boosted my ability to manipulate Chakra, it's sort of destroyed my ability to properly mold it for proper techniques."

"So….you can't do any basic techniques or manipulate an element?"

"Yep, but I can still expel the Chakra in its unrefined form. I can focus it to a single point to an extent where the density is so great that I can release it almost like a solid blast as well as generating a field around in the form of a barrier. I was born a sensory type, so I can feel the life force of nearby individuals as well."

"Woah, is that how you protected us back on the tower?"

"Yeah, I can manipulate my own Chakra in such a way that I can enshroud a target and freely move them, provided they don't disrupt my control."

"…..What?"

Ino then suddenly turned to Naruto and her face scrunched up as she concentrated and Naruto suddenly felta rather warm tingly feeling around him that started to feel rather heavy; almost as if he was very deep underwater. Naruto then started to lightly glow blue before he felt himself slowly move upward into the air. Ino smirked and moved side to side with her arm which caused Naruto to jerk around a bit. She then dropped her arm and Naruto fell face first into the dirt.

"Graceful," teased Ino as she helped him up.

"That's incredible! You can just freely move things around like that?" Asked Naruto rather excitedly as he dusted himself off.

"Yeah, there are limitations of course. It's still an extension of my strength so it's not like I can just throw buildings around with ease. Also, when it comes to living beings, a rather forceful Chakra pulse release can disrupt my control so it's not always the best course of action. Now, let's see if we can find this guy….he should still be near."

Ino and Naruto crept quietly forward as they tried not to make too much noises by stepping on dead leaves or having to forcefully move aside branches. Within a few moments, they arrived in front of a clearing and saw a rather long-haired individual with a basket in one hand bent over and looking at something on the ground.

"…..You think that's him?" Asked Naruto quietly.

"….Well…..does kind of look like a girl…that checks out," replied Ino.

"….What if it actually is a girl?"

"….What would they be doing out here?"

"Okay…point….I'll call Sasuke."

"Hey….Sasuke….we think we located the guy," whispered Naruto into his device.

"Yeah….okay…send Kiba and me your coordinates," responded Sasuke.

"I know you're there….come out," called out the individual as he gazed around the clearing.

"Okay….we've been compromised….somehow…might wanna pick up the pace," whispered Naruto rather frantically into his Leafpoint.

"….What did you do?" Came Sasuke's disgruntled voice over communications.

""….What? What makes you think I did anything?" Whispered Naruto rather indignantly as Ino covered her mouth and giggled.

"Because you ALWAYS do something…whatever, try and keep him there as long as possible, we'll be there in a bit," instructed Sasuke as the communication went silent.

"….I'm not going to ask again," warned the individual.

Naruto and Ino both stepped out into the clearing rather tentatively as they were unsure of what was about to happen. Though they relaxed a bit as even on sight, the individual kept a relaxed posture and a rather neutral expression.

"….Who are you?" He asked.

"That isn't of much importance…..we were just wondering…uh….er….um….what is your name?" Asked Ino hesitantly as she tried to think of more stupid questions to stall for time.

"…..Do you really care?" He asked with a rather bored expression. "If you're a part of the town's resistance….please go back, I do not wish to be forced to kill you."

"We aren't!" Denied Naruto rather quickly as he raised his hands up to his chest. Technically they weren't lying, they weren't directly a part of the town's resistance. "We just happened to stumble across this area…honest!"

Okay, that was a lie.

"Uh huh….sure….," the individual responded clearly in disbelief. "Well…..humor me, you may call me Haku."

"Haku huh?...That's a…..that's an interesting name," stated Naruto rather lamely.

"…Is it really?" Drawled Haku.

"We aren't here to fight," stated Ino slowly.

"Really? Then why is blondie slowly reaching for a set of kunai knives?" Asked Haku sarcastically.

"….Are you kidding me?" Growled Ino scathingly. "You can't stand still?"

"Hey! Don't blame me! Leaf sort of beats the habit into you!" Whined Naruto.

"You're Leaf operatives?" Asked Haku rather sharply as he quickly got into a fighting stance.

"Way to spill the beans, dumbass," scoffed Ino as she also took a battle stance alongside Naruto.

"I uh….don't suppose you might just cooperate with us?" Suggested Naruto rather hopefully.

"….Yeah, the fact you've been lying from the start doesn't instill me with great confidence to help you…..but humor me…..what do you want?" Asked Haku.

"Something you have," answered Sasuke as he landed in front of Naruto and Ino.

"Yeah? And what would that-," Haku's eyes widened as he quickly rolled to avoid Kiba who tore out from the bushes off to the side with his passing fang.

Haku dusted himself off before he noticed that Kiba did not stop as he got closer to his friends. In fact, Kiba eventually veered off to the side before making a full 180 and going straight for Haku again. Haku thrust one hand forward and shards of ice flew out at of his sleeves and aimed right at the center of Kiba's rapid rotations. However, Kiba was rotating so quickly that the shards were merely blasted away as they closed in on their targets. As Kiba got closer, Haku slammed both hands into the ground causing a rather large block of ice to rise up and intercept Kiba's attack. Kiba crashed into the wall headfirst before rebounding back and landed on his back next to his teammates. He was dazed for a few moments before he shook his head and regained his bearings before scowling and standing up next to his squad mates.

"To create such a dent in my defense….not bad," remarked Haku as he surveyed the damage on his wall of ice before releasing his technique.

"I've been informed you have clearance to one of the larger buildings in the northern part of town….," spoke Sasuke.

Haku was silent for a moment as he gazed at each of the 4 individuals in front of him as he was lost in thought. After a few moments, he sighed before he got into a battle stance again.

"I see what's going on here…..so they finally went ahead and got outside help," muttered Haku as one of his hands inched towards his pouch.

"If you know who we are and why we're here….you're better off just helping us; the odds aren't in your favor," reasoned Naruto.

"…..Ordinarily you would be correct on both aspects….however, the former is untrue this time. The odds might be in your favor….but I can't risk crossing Gato," murmured Haku as he drew several senbon needles from his pouch.

"Be reasonable, what can possibly be gained from helping a sick bastard like him? He leads despicable underground crimes from human trafficking to extorting and ruining small peaceful towns like this!" Argued Ino.

"….Perhaps….but there are some things only the devil can provide," muttered Haku.

Sasuke scoffed as he made several hand gestures behind his back and dashed forward while making a series of handseals and then proceeded to jump into forward into the air at Haku. Haku made his own set of handseals before he leapt back and slammed one hand onto the ground.

 **Ice Style: Ice Age**

Ice crystals began sprouting up all around Haku and directly underneath Sasuke as Haku seemed to freeze the nearby environment. Sasuke then gathered Chakra to his core before taking a deep breath and then exhaling.

 **Fire Style: Dragon Fire**

Sasuke blew out a huge burst of flame in the shape of a dragon's head which incinerated the area beneath him which caused huge amounts of steam to be released from the collision of ice and fire. As the steam cleared, Haku looked up ahead and noticed that there were suddenly 6 Naruto's closing in on him. Haku raised on arm that suddenly became encased in ice before taking the form of a rather sharp blade as he rammed it into the chest of the first incoming Naruto causing it to disperse into smoke. Haku then quickly swung his arm horizontally and decapitated another Naruto which also burst into smoke. Haku then took a punch to the face from one of the Naruto's causing him to tumble backwards. As Naruto and his clones landed and charged onward, Haku went through another series of seals before thrusting both his hands forward.

 **Ice Style: Artic Shards**

A flurry of small ice shards blasted out of Haku's sleeves and tore through Naruto and his clones causing all his clones to disperse and Naruto tumbled back as various parts of his shirt tore open at the storm of ice shards. Haku then went through another series of seals before stamping several times on the ground with his leg.

 **Ice Style: Thousand Needles**

Drops of water rose up from the melted ice before slowly forming very thin needle-like shapes all around Naruto before darting inward to skewer him. Ino's eyes and hands began to glow blue before she thrust both arms in Naruto's direction. Naruto was then encapsulated in a blue bubble which protected him from Haku's attack.

"Whew, thanks Ino," gasped Naruto as he gave her a thumbs up while she stuck her hand out and helped him up.

Sasuke made a hand gesture to Kiba who then nodded as they both dashed forward at Haku. Kiba pulled ahead of Sasuke and the red lines of face paint on Kiba's face seemed to become a shade darker as Kiba's canine's seemed to grow sharper and his nails began to sharpen. Kiba then proceeded to get on all fours and seemed to increase his speed as he closed the distance between him and Haku. Haku drew out several senbon needles and tossed them at Kiba as Kiba got just a few feet in front of Haku with Sasuke trailing slightly behind. Kiba took one wide swing with his now claw-like hand which swatted away the group of needles right before he paused and let out a rather feral roar. The rather loud piercing sound seemed to catch Haku by surprise as he flinched a bit before wincing. Kiba then punched Haku in the gut causing him to hunch forward as Kiba immediately followed up with a knee to Haku's chin. Sasuke made several gestures behind him towards Naruto and Ino before he jumped over Kiba's crouching form towards Haku who was still in a daze as he was staggering backwards. Sasuke then proceeded to punch Haku two more times which finally caused Haku to finally lose his balance and start to fall over backwards until Sasuke grabbed the front of Haku's shirt and yanked him back. Sasuke then punched Haku upward right in the jaw before dropping to the ground and delivering a kick in the same place which sent Haku flying up. Sasuke then leapt up and appeared above Haku and delivered a punch to Haku's midsection with the intent on smashing Haku straight back into the dirt.

"Going to have to do better than that," coughed out Haku as he grabbed Sasuke's wrist and intercepted the attack.

Haku then swung Sasuke around to reverse their positions and was about to deliver a devastating blow until he was suddenly restrained by a set of silver chains.

"We did warn you that the odds weren't in your favor," smirked Sasuke as he regained his composure and landed back on the ground.

Haku then struggled for several seconds before a blue ball of Chakra collided with his gut which knocked him out of the air and into a tree trunk. Naruto reeled Haku in which his chains before they receded back into his body. Kiba took one look at Haku's unconscious state before wincing.

"Oooohhh, he's going to feel that when he wakes up," stated Kiba as he felt a little bad for Haku.

"It's a shame….he had such a pretty face," sighed Ino as the blue glow around her fist dispersed.

"Let's not waste time; tie him up and let's bring him back to Inari's place. We can interrogate him for some much needed information," ordered Sasuke as he turned around and headed back.

* * *

"I can't believe you managed to capture him so quickly," stated Inari rather impressed.

"Eh…..four of us…we're trained for this stuff; not a particularly large hurdle," shrugged Sasuke.

The group sat around in silence as Tsunami prepared lunch off in the kitchen while Inari routinely squeezed cold water out of a rag over Haku's face in an attempt to wake him up.

"So…what happens at the end of your plan?" Asked Kiba.

"What do you mean?" Questioned Inari with a rather confused look.

"Suppose all this pans out the way we want; we get clearance and then we take off Gato's head. Do we just assume that his entire operation falls through?" Asked Kiba rather skeptically.

"That's true…we aren't exactly sure how deep his operations run in terms of people….but I guess assuming that everything beneath him crumbles is a bit of a stretch," agreed Ino.

"Doesn't matter," cut off Sasuke. "Our contract is to take the appropriate steps to end this crisis, not kill Gato."

"So….how do you plan to do that?" Asked Tazuna

"We do whatever your grandson asks of us. Nothing more, nothing less. Our hope is for you to achieve your goals with our help," reminded Sasuke as he looked at his Leafpoint.

"But…you might end up having to fight with a severe numerical disadvantage," pointed out Inari.

"So be it. Don't worry about us, you tell us where to go and we will listen; even if that does including fighting a battle that seems hopeless," stated Naruto who crossed his arms.

Kiba snorted but nodded his head in agreement as he cracked his knuckles before turning to lie down on the couch while Ino merely closed her eyes and sat in a meditative position.

"You all are so young….are you really okay with living like that?" Asked Tazuna rather hesitantly.

"We were trained to do this from a very early age, this is something we wanted and chose to do. We have come to accept this in our line of work," informed Ino who kept her eyes closed. "Do you falter in your construction work through the knowledge that a slight mishap could lead to multiple deaths of innocents?"

Before Tazuna could respond, stirring and groaning could be heard as Haku was slowly regaining his consciousness. His face was in a daze for a bit before his eyes widened as he took in his surroundings and immediately tried to escape. However, his plan was foiled by the fact that his arms and legs were bound and what sealed the deal was that Naruto had immediately released a chain from each arm which compounded towards Haku's inability to scape.

"Relax, we want to avoid random killing if possible," stated Sasuke as he put his hand on Haku's shoulder in an attempt to calm him down.

"Are you sure about this…..this guy is probably deranged….working for Gato," reminded Tazuna who had become rather uncomfortable.

"He was hired….just like us, I doubt he really is crazy. We need some intel on the situation right now so we need him alive," explained Sasuke which did seem to stop Haku from struggling.

"So….you seemed rather resistant to the idea of helping us get rid of Gato…..I'm going to assume this means you have a personal stake in this," noted Sasuke as Haku remained silent.

"You can stay silent if you want…but let me put this in perspective for you; we know for a fact that you heading off to the forest is on your own time. If you don't show up to report in then Gato can only assume the worst from someone who doesn't even look like they want to help him," stated Sasuke as Haku's eyes widened.

"It's not pretty….but I'd say you've run out of good options…we have another way to get what we want….but I figured you might not want a breach of privacy in your mind," warned Sasuke as he sat down in front of Haku.

Haku's face scrunched up in defiance as he simply just spat on the ground and refused to meet Sasuke's eye.

"You're bluffing," scoffed Haku.

"Well, don't say I didn't warn you," shrugged Sasuke. "Ino, get what we need from him and let's head out."

Ino nodded as she put her hand over Haku's forehead and her eyes began to glow white before she closed them and seemed to enter a trance. After several moments, Ino reopened her eyes and seemed to remain silent with a rather somber expression on her face.

"….Something the matter?" Asked Kiba as he looked at Ino's blank expression.

"….I….I don't have a choice," whispered Haku as tears formed at his eyes.

"What's he going on about?" Asked Naruto as he raised his eyebrows.

"He….he's a wanted person in Water country….he was a projected to be a talented up and coming member of the Mist Academy," explained Ino.

"Eh, a rogue cadet? Never heard of you," shrugged Sasuke.

"He doesn't actually have a criminal record," stated Ino which caught everyone's attention. "The conclusion of the last war left Water country rather war-torn and ravaged as well as large amounts of citizens became impoverished."

"Water country is relatively weak in terms of raw militaristic strength when compared to their neighbors…..we drew our strength from the sheer diversity of our clans which all relied on techniques that were secret to our blood," explained Haku. "Lightning country waged war against us utilizing sleeper agents that just so happened to be high-ranking officials that possessed these bloodline abilities."

"….Ah, so that's how then rumored Great Purge began," said Kiba as he continued to stare at the ceiling.

"Yes…..my clan took it the worst as nearly a dozen of our respected leaders become indoctrinated….the governing body of Water Country then ordered the extermination of my clan….so I fled with my mother and father," explained Haku.

"I suppose if there is one thing these common underground criminals are good at….it's remaining hidden," nodded Sasuke as he started to see where Haku was going.

"Yes….I rely on Gato now….if I cross him then he will see to it that my parents are disposed of….I venture out into the forest to gather herbs as my mother and father have fallen ill as of late," revealed Haku as he stared at the ground.

This seemed to catch Kiba's attention as he immediately sat up and stared at Haku with wide eyes for a few moments before looking back at Sasuke and then returning his gaze to Haku. After a few moments, Kiba managed to compose himself before he looked at Sasuke rather expectantly.

"…Yes?" Asked Sasuke

"Well? Aren't we going….you know," trailed off Kiba.

"….No, I'm afraid I don't know," replied Sasuke sarcastically.

"Aren't we going to do something about that?"

Sasuke sighed as he closed his eyes for a few moments before standing up and looking at Kiba.

"Our job is to do whatever it takes so that Inari can end Gato's rule over this town….not to take detours and help everyone else along the way. Our apologies," murmured Sasuke as he nodded at Haku.

"….That's it? We're just going to stand by and do nothing?" Demanded Kiba.

"Not only is it dangerous to charge in blindly….it's DUMB," stressed out Sasuke as he raised an eyebrow at Kiba.

"He might lose his family!" Argued Kiba.

"Yeah and MANY people might lose their families if we screw up trying to make everyone happy," reminded Sasuke as he rubbed his temple.

Ino slowly slid a ring off of Haku's bound hand and held it up for Sasuke, "this will get us into the building."

Sasuke nodded before he turned to Haku, "I'm not entirely without sympathy to your situation….but hopefully you can understand ours. The best I can offer is that I will release you so you can return to report whatever you want. Keep in mind that your injuries won't heal for a while and reporting your loss of the ring will only make Gato see you as a less valuable asset that was defeated."

Haku merely swallowed and nodded slowly while still staring at the ground.

"What you choose to do from here is on you….but remember, if we meet again, you'll be injured and we will treat you as an enemy," warned Sasuke as he stood up and gestured for his team to follow him.

Haku nodded again as Naruto and Ino both helped Haku up and brought him outside in front of the house before undoing his restraints.

"Anything you can tell us about the building?" Asked Sasuke one last time.

"I've never been inside even though I could….I only know there's a rather large luxurious room at the top," murmured Haku before he limped back into the direction they came.

"You….you sure that's a good idea?" Asked Inari hesitantly.

"Yeah….even if it wouldn't matter….I'd rather avoid unnecessary bloodshed. Plus, that kid has it hard enough," murmured Sasuke.

"Really…you feel that way and you're just going to let him go?" Growled Kiba.

"Yeah….the mission comes before my feelings, Kiba," replied Sasuke.

"Really? Have you no soul? Naruto?! Ino?!" Called out Kiba as he looked at his two remaining teammates.

"….Sasuke's right," shrugged Naruto to which Kiba could glare.

"I….I stand by the captain's decision," replied Ino nervously who then started staring at the ground.

"FINE,….but that doesn't mean I'll like it," Growled Kiba as he threw his hands up in the air.

"That's all that matters," murmured Sasuke as he waved goodbye to Inari and Tazuna.

"Good luck!" Called out Inari.

* * *

"That was unexpectedly easy," muttered Sasuke as he entered the building after showing the two guards the ring.

"You think it's a trap?" Asked Ino who was rather uneasy.

"I think Gato and his men are probably just dumbasses," muttered Kiba as he walked through the lobby and pressed for the elevator.

"Could be either, keep your guard up," instructed Sasuke as he entered the elevator and pressed for the top floor.

"Eh….there were a lot of people guarding this building….I can't believe they all let us go by just cause we have a ring….you'd figure that guarding their boss might be a sort of sensitive procedure," murmured Naruto.

The elevator doors opened and in front of them was a rather long hallway that had many doors on each side. The four of them stepped out of the elevator and opened the first immediate door on their right which revealed a library. Sasuke then walked across the hall and opened the first door on the left which revealed a swimming pool.

"…The hell, is this floor just for Gato and recreational activities while his minions do the work?" Asked Naruto to nobody in particular.

Ino closed her eyes for a second and waved her hand in front of her before turning over to Sasuke.

"There's a single person on this floor and he's in the next room quite literally just directly behind that door," Stated Ino as she pointed down the hall.

"Let's do this quickly and get out without making a fuss…I can take care of this. Stand back," instructed Sasuke as he made a series of seals before gripping his right wrist.

Chakra gathered at Sasuke's right hand before it suddenly erupted into lightning and violent sparks of electricity were being emitted from Sasuke's hand.

"Directly through that door right?" Asked Sasuke one last time for confirmation.

"Yes," confirmed Ino.

Sasuke then became a blur as he charged forward with maximum speed while his right arm was ripping up the ground he was running on. Sasuke then thrusted his arm forward which smashed through the door and Sasuke saw the flash of an individual who slowly turned around to see the source of the noise moments before Sasuke found himself in front of the individual with his right arm through the figure's chest. A rather frightened look was on the man's face with his mouth wide open but he was dead before he could speak. Sasuke pulled out his bloody hand with disgust but his eyes then widened as he looked at the dead body.

"Guys…..we have a problem….this isn't Gato," stated Sasuke rather slowly as he backed up.

"What? We came here all this way to kill one of his goons?" Complained Kiba as he caught up to Sasuke.

"No….even worse….I got antsy and jumped the gun," said Sasuke as he palmed his own face.

"My god…is that…," trailed off Ino.

"Yes….that's one of Water Country's most well-respected Daimyos," said Sasuke as his heart sank.

"Well well well….seems like you twerps got one of my biggest benefactors…..shame, I liked him," sneered Gato's face who then appeared on the giant projector screen on the back.

"Benefactors?...Bah, go figure that rich powerful people are dirty dealers," muttered Naruto as he crossed his arms.

"Hehehe…those stupid resistance groups….so easy to draw them in and figure out what they're up to," smirked Gato.

"It doesn't matter….so we killed one corrupt individual….you're next," stated Sasuke rather deadpanned.

"Hahahaha…I'm already preparing to vanish…but not before I show the higher ups of Water Country…..how do you think they'll react to documentation of one of their great political figures….assassinated," smirked Gato as the Leaf operatives gasped at this revelation.

"You're not going to get away with this," snarled Ino.

"Oh, I believe I will…..you see, I think you'll be too busy with the fact that the main generator at the middle of town is rigged to explode in two hours.…..heh heh heh….good luck," laughed Gato before the connection died.

"FUCK!" Yelled out Kiba as he smashed a nearby chair.

"This is no time lose our composure," advised Sasuke as he took in several deep breaths before walking over to a nearby terminal.

"We gotta stop that explosion!" Yelled Kiba as he turned to his team.

"We can't just let Gato whisk away with that footage….it could start another war!" Argued Naruto

"We don't even know where Gato is!" Countered Kiba.

'Yes we do," answered Sasuke as he looked up from the terminal. "The line used to keep the connection for that brief message wasn't encrypted well enough, I traced it back to another building just a ways east of here. I also put a tracker on Haku without him knowing just in case, and it shows him in the vicinity of that building. This means that Gato most likely informed those he somewhat cares about to evacuate along with him so if we follow Haku's tracer we should be able to get to Gato."

"WHAT ABOUT ALL THOSE PEOPLE?" Screamed Kiba.

"Unfortunate, but the alternative is something we can't afford to let happen," stated Sasuke calmly.

"You're really going to let all those people die? WHAT HAPPENED TO THE MISSION BEING TOP PRIORITY?"

"The mission was to liberate this town….that's going to be completed regardless of what happens as Gato is aiming to depart from this town. Our client should be safe as Tazuna's place is on the edge of town to the west, should be sufficient to avoid the blast."

"….You're really about to let all those innocents die because of YOUR mistake? The blood of hundreds are about to be on your hands if we just let this go! I'm not going to-"

Kiba was cut off as Sasuke clenched his teeth and shoved Kiba rather roughly onto a nearby chair.

"I KNOW it was my mistake…I jumped the gun….but I can't go back in time and undo it…..the only thing I can do is to ensure that nothing worse can come from it. If that means staining my hands with the blood of hundreds over the blood of millions…so be it," snarled Sasuke.

Kiba was silent for a moment before he tilted his gaze down and then stood up and wordlessly made his way over to the exit before turning over towards his team.

"You might be okay with that…but I'm not," growled Kiba.

Kiba threw his hood over his head and prepared to exit until Sasuke's voice echoed across the hallway.

"KIBA! I don't like this anymore than you do…..believe me…but I AM STILL YOUR CAPTAIN…..my word is law. You are free to file a complaint to our superiors when all this is over but until then…YOU WILL DO AS I SAY…..or be reported after this for defiance and obstruction of mission completion," threatened Sasuke rather darkly.

Kiba stiffened for a moment as his body started shaking from the fury he felt coursing through his blood. After a few moments, he took several deep breaths before turning around and parting his mouth slightly to display his sharpened canines and then slowly saluting with narrowed eyes.

"Yes…sir."

 **TBC**

 **Gah, sorry for taking so long…I actually had about 80% of this chapter completed but I got stuck writing the end from about Haku's "interrogation" and onward. I kept writing and deleting because I was really unhappy with how it turned out. Hopefully it didn't turn out that badly! I know that Daimyos are kinda outdated for a supposed modern world….but I couldn't really figure out an appropriate synonymous term and I figured that a lot of people probably wouldn't care about that kind of inconsistency haha! Anyhow, shoot me a review and lemme know how I'm doing!**


	4. Re-Shuffle

**Whew! I'm back with another chapter! I'll be updating TJ, TB, ATDOW after this so expect a chapter for that one soon!**

 **Disclaimer: I Don't Own Anything!**

 **Chapter 4:** Re-Shuffle

" _KIBA! I don't like this anymore than you do…..believe me…but I AM STILL YOUR CAPTAIN…..my word is law. You are free to file a complaint to our superiors when all this is over but until then…YOU WILL DO AS I SAY…..or be reported after this for defiance and obstruction of mission completion," threatened Sasuke rather darkly._

 _Kiba stiffened for a moment as his body started shaking from the fury he felt coursing through his blood. After a few moments, he took several deep breaths before turning around and parting his mouth slightly to display his sharpened canines and then slowly saluting with narrowed eyes._

" _Yes…sir."_

* * *

"So….what's the plan?" Asked Ino who was hoping to ease the tension between Kiba and Sasuke.

"We'll tail this tracer; it's heading northbound meaning we won't pass through much of anywhere to actually warn people about the armed explosion. I'll send a message to Inari to let him know to do what he can, but we need to track down Gato and stop him from leaving," instructed Sasuke.

"…..What about Haku?" Asked Naruto hesitantly.

"….I think you already know the answer to that," murmured Sasuke. "Let's move!"

The three subordinates nodded as they filed back into the elevator and Sasuke pressed the button to be brought down to ground level.

* * *

"….Something troubling you, Sasuke?" Asked Ino as she took notice of Sasuke's rather blank expression.

Sasuke remained silent for a moment as he closed his eyes briefly while still making his way towards Haku's tracer with his team.

 _Flashback_

" _Hey! I did it! I got accepted into-," Sasuke was cut short as he opened the sliding door to his home and was greeted with the sight of blood and bodies everywhere._

"… _..Mom?...Dad?...Brother?...What…happened?" Asked Sasuke out loud as he felt his blood go cold as he slowly walked over to identify the bodies in front of him._

" _No….No…this can't be happening! Mom! Shoku! Saizo! Kisa!...ANYBODY?!" Cried out Sasuke as he shook the motionless bodies nearby._

 _Sasuke stood up and ran through the compound as he desperately searched for anybody left alive He opened door after door only to be greeted with blood smears and piles of bodies and overturned or destroyed furniture. Distant yelling caught Sasuke's attention as his eyes widened as he relaxed at the prospect of survivors. He quickly dashed to the source and found himself at the entrance to the yard in the back before he witnessed a grueling sight._

" _You made your bed….now lie in it," growled Fugaku as he lifted Shisui by the neck and rammed a sword through his gut._

" _SHISUI!...DAD! WHAT'RE YOU DOING?" Screamed out Sasuke in horror as he watched his father toss the body of Shisui who was gargling up blood._

" _Sasuke…..you…gotta….run…..get out of…here," coughed out Shisui as blood filled his mouth._

" _Well well…..look what we have here," stated Fugaku rather menacingly as he advanced on Sasuke with his bloody sword._

" _Dad…why? Why would you do this?" Asked Sasuke as tears formed in his eyes as he slowly backed up._

" _The road to hell is paved with good intentions….son," muttered Fugaku as he lifted his blade and began a wide horizontal swing._

 _Sasuke felt his knees go weak as he tripped over a small rock causing him to fall on his back and narrowly avoid the blade of his father. Sasuke quickly kicked at his dad's wrist causing him to wince in a bit as he dropped his sword. Sasuke quickly scrambled to his feet and dashed back into the house, desperate to find a place to hide._

" _You can't run from this Sasuke….none can escape their fate," yelled out Fugaku as he slowly entered the compound to search for Sasuke._

 _Sasuke trembled with fear at the tone of his father as he hid in a small cabinet and hoped for a chance to escape. Fugaku looked around for a few moments in the living room before he noticed the corner of the carpet was curled upward right in front of a small cabinet. Fugaku smirked as he slowly walked up to the cabinet before tearing the doors open to reveal a terrified Sasuke._

" _May you find solace in the void," spoke Fugaku rather deadpanned as he readied his blade again._

 _Sasuke's eyes widened as he felt his own heartbeat and the world seemed to slow down as he watched his father's blade slowly come down on him. It wasn't fair! He had a happy family….he just gotten into the Leaf academy….why did everything have to go to shit now? What did he do to deserve something like this? He didn't even know what was going on! In a swift moment of gut reaction, Sasuke thrust his arm forward and somehow managed to shatter the incoming blade with his hand which shocked Fugaku. However, nothing could prepare Sasuke for what he was about to witness as he re-opened his eyes._

 _He found his arm pierced through his father's chest and covered in blood._

" _What…what have I done?" Whispered Sasuke as he slowly withdrew his hand and looked at the blood that had splattered all around before vomiting on the ground._

 _After regaining composure, Sasuke looked at the arm that he had killed his father with and couldn't help but feel a strange emptiness. Sasuke stared as his arm which continued to shake involuntarily as it felt strange….almost as if it was charged with electricity of some sort and was extremely jumpy. He gazed around and noticed that he could see a very faint Chakra signature outside on top of a tree. Sasuke ran outside and saw a familiar face atop the tree while being silhouetted by the full moon._

" _I see you ended father's life…..little brother," murmured Itachi._

" _BROTHER!...What's going on? What happened here?" Cried out Sasuke._

" _Your father and I…..we had a conflict of interest with the clan…..well, you see the results," stated Itachi rather coldly as he gestured at the surrounding bodies._

 _His brother…and his father? No! That wasn't possible! He and Itachi may not have always seen eye to eye….but his brother was kind and caring! Even his dad…..though harsh, still provided and helped Sasuke whenever the need arose. What could have possibly caused all this to happen?!_

" _No…you…you….you and dad….," trailed off Sasuke before he gazed into his brother's blazing Sharingan._

" _When it comes time for the planet to die…..you will understand that you know absolutely nothing," stated Itachi rather cryptically as his Sharigan blazed wildly and turned a darker shade of red._

 _Sasuke suddenly saw several bodies of his extended family slowly stand up with blood red pupils and blank expressions as they approached Sasuke with a rather slow walk as if in a trance._

" _No…No…NO! BROTHER! STOP THIS! PLEASE!" Screamed out Sasuke._

" _Hmph….a rather primitive technique….., nothing more than former shells with no direction," mused Itachi as he gazed as his creations._

" _Brother…please….stop this madness," pleaded Sasuke as he fell to his knees._

" _Let us see if I truly am the only one that can stop this…," trailed off Itachi as he drew a short sword from his side and threw it at Sasuke's feet. "Grow up quickly Sasuke….if you wish to live."_

 _Sasuke's eyes widened as he realized what Itachi was hinting at. Sasuke silently shook his head rapidly as he looked up to his brother with a pleading gaze, there was no way he could expect Sasuke to do this. Itachi merely shrugged and vanished into the night as the reanimated Uchiha's slowly stalked forward towards Sasuke with their arms extended forward. Sasuke felt his blood go cold as his gaze continued to move back and forth from the sword his brother left and the growing crowd in front of him._

* * *

" _Hey! This one is still alive!"_

 _Sasuke groaned as he slowly opened his eyes to some strange adult individual before he noticed that it was now daytime. Sasuke slowly sat up as he rubbed his eyes and the view of the world began to finally clear up._

" _Can you tell us what happened? Are you the only surviving Uchiha?" Asked the individual rather fervently as he shook Sasuke by the shoulders lightly._

" _No…..No I'm not," murmured Sasuke as he gazed up into the clouds._

 _End Flashback_

"No…I'm fine….," muttered Sasuke as he looked upward towards the sky.

* * *

"I had wanted to avoid something like this…..unfortunate that it had to end this way," stated Sasuke as he and his team stood across from Haku and Gato.

"….Did you set me up?!" Snarled Gato as he finally took notice the ring on Sasuke's finger.

"No, we stole it," stated Sasuke as he took notice of Haku's silence and rather empty expression.

"Bah…USELESS….this is your last chance, get rid of them….you mess this up….and…," Gato left the threat hanging as he eyed Haku.

"Yes sir," responded Haku as he grit his teeth.

Gato scowled again as he gazed at the Leaf team as he backed away into the rather tall building. Sasuke eyed the building for a moment before he turned around and gestured forward to his team.

"He's going to try and make a break for it. Inuzuka, on me. Uzumaki and Yamanaka, use whatever means necessary to stop Gato," ordered Sasuke.

Naruto and Ino nodded as they broke out in a dash and passed by Haku. As Haku turned to stop them, Sasuke quickly went through a series of rapid hand seals.

 **Fire Style: Flaming Fence**

The tips of Sasuke's fingers ignited and he flung both hands outward which shot out a thin stream of fire outward which caused Haku and Kiba as well as Sasuke himself to be enclosed in a ring of fire which halted Haku's movement.

"Buddy….where do you think you're going?" Smirked Sasuke as he and Kiba both got into a fighting stance.

* * *

"So…do you really feel nothing for Haku's situation?" Asked Ino hesitantly as she ducked under a punch from Gato's thugs before performing a sweep kick to knock him down.

"What do you mean?" Asked Naruto as he smashed two thugs together with his chains.

"You seemed rather quick and nonchalant about following Sasuke's order," pointed out Ino as she released another ball of Chakra that knocked down an incoming thug.

 **Wind Style: Typhoon Explosion**

Naruto clapped his hands together rather hard as he released a huge gust of wind that blew away incoming arrows that were being fired at him and Ino.

"He's the captain….I follow his orders," shrugged Naruto.

"Yeah….I get that…..but you didn't have any personal thoughts or feelings to mull over first?" Asked Ino as she lifted an unconscious body with her Chakra and tossed it at the bow-wielding group.

"Kinda…I guess….I dunno, why?" Questioned Naruto as he created three clones and engaged another group of thugs.

"Eh…it's just….I don't know…I expected a reaction similar to Kiba from you," shrugged Ino as she formed a barrier to block several incoming spears.

"Oh…..yeah, I can see why….I just trust Sasuke to always make the right call," murmured Naruto.

"Interesting….why is that?"

 _Flashback_

 _Naruto sighed as he looked at a picture of his mother that he frequently kept in his pocket. Naruto sat on the swings in the shade as he gazed upward at the sky and tried to figure out where it all went wrong. His mother was just declared missing one day and his father soon followed…..and soon, nobody would even talk to him about it or acknowledge them while they all started giving him harsh glares and soon, even their children followed in suit. Naruto couldn't understand….his mother and father were friendly and both were respected Leaf operatives….though his mother had retired. All the harsh glares and whispers left Naruto feeling so confused and lonely. In fact, if it weren't for the fact that Naruto was with his family at one point…it would almost seem as if his parents didn't even exist to the rest of the world._

" _Hey."_

 _Naruto gazed upward to see the onyx eyes of a boy about the same age as him that wore a shirt with a strange looking fan on it._

" _Hi….?" Greeted Naruto hesitantly._

 _There was silence for a moment before Naruto considered simply running away….most kids tended to avoid him unless they had something mean in mind and even if they didn't…..their parents were soon to arrive and berate at them before glaring at Naruto and telling him to stay away from their kid._

" _I'm Sasuke….Uchiha Sasuke."_

 _Naruto stayed silent as he eyed Sasuke a bit trying to figure out if this kid was up to something. Something about him seemed to ring a bell in Naruto's head as Naruto was just slightly confident that he had seen this kid somewhere before….but the name Sasuke wasn't really ringing any bells._

" _This would be the part where you tell me that you're Uzumaki Naruto," said Sasuke rather sarcastically as he rolled his eyes and stuck his hand out._

"… _.How do you know my name?" Asked Naruto as he slowly shook Sasuke's hand._

" _Your mom was the lady with the long red hair that was kinda….loud….wasn't she? My mom was friends with your mom…I think," revealed Sasuke._

 _Naruto scratched his chin as he tried to recall the faces of his mom's friends. His mother, Kushina, was rather nice to most people she met so many individuals were rather fond of her. A memory of an individual with rather long black hair that kind of looked like a female Sasuke popped into Naruto's mind as his eyes widened and he snapped his fingers upon realization._

" _Yeah yeah….your mom…her name…Mi….Mi…Miko…," stuttered Naruto a bit as he struggled to remember._

" _Mikoto….Uchiha Mikoto,"nodded Sasuke._

" _Right….how is she? She was pretty nice from what I recall," smiled Naruto._

"… _..She's dead…..you haven't heard?...My people…they're all gone," murmured Sasuke._

 _Naruto's eyes widened as he remained silent as Sasuke sat down in the grass next to the makeshift swing on the tree branch._

" _I'm….I'm sorry to hear that, I guess that's something we have in common," said Naruto with a rather forced laugh._

 _The two continued to sit in silence as individuals would pass by and point at the two children while whispering amongst themselves while sending rather odd looks in their direction. After a bit, a growl in Naruto's stomach broke the rather fragile tranquility between the two children._

" _Want a tomato?" Asked Sasuke as he smiled slightly after pulling out a small bag and offering a tomato._

 _End Flashback_

"Hmmmm…..we go way back….it's a long story," replied Naruto as he finished dealing with the thugs around him.

Naruto looked down the hall just in time to see the elevator doors closing with Gato inside. He then turned towards the stairs and gestured at Ino to follow along.

"C'mon, let's not waste time or he'll get away."

Ino merely nodded as she gave Naruto one last strange look before they both dashed up the stairs.

* * *

Kiba roared as he closed in on Haku once again who was temporarily distracted due to just dodging a volley of fireballs from Sasuke. Although he was certainly not lying over, his injuries from the previous skirmish were clearly prominent. Kiba grimaced as he retracted his claws and half-heartedly punched Haku in the gut causing him to exhale rather deeply before tumbling back. Sasuke followed up by tossing several shuriken in Haku's direction as Haku struggled to get back up. Haku managed to draw out several senbon needles which he tossed forward save for one left in his hand. Four shuriken still made it threw but Haku managed to deflect 2 while the other 2 embedded into his side. Haku winced and coughed out some blood as his sight began to blur while his eyes started to become unfocused. He put one hand to his forehead and groaned as he struggled to stay conscious.

 _No…I…I can't…..can't lose…..too much…on the line….Father….Mother…..No!_

"Inuzuka….finish this," ordered Sasuke.

Kiba gulped before shaking his head and slowly nodding. He began to run forward to gain momentum before he did a small jump and began rotating rapidly.

 **Hidden Beast Art: Passing Fang**

Kiba tore up the ground as he moved in serpentine for a few moments before closing in on Haku. He rammed directly into Haku's gut before momentarily seeming to slow down which caused Haku to be knocked back.

"You know what's at stake Inuzuka….don't half-ass this," glared Sasuke.

Kiba shook his head briefly to try and dispel the terrible feeling welling up inside of him as he nodded once more and broke out in a dash towards his Haku's stumbling self. Kiba's nails sharpened and became claws once more as Kiba broke out in a rather bestial dash and closed the distance. Kiba seemed to slow down as he got closer and as he arrived in front of Haku, his face fell and his arms began shaking as he couldn't bring himself to commit the act. Kiba felt shame and anger well up in him as his conflicted emotions continue to rage war within him and he turned to Sasuke while unsure of what to do.

"INUZUKA! BE CAREFUL!" Yelled out Sasuke as he noticed Haku going through a flurry of seals.

 _ **I….CAN'T…AFFORD…TO…LOSE**_

 **Ice Style: Demonic Ice Mirrors**

Suddenly, Kiba found himself surrounded by mirrors made of ice that all had the image of Haku inside. Before Kiba could utter anything, he screamed out in pain at the stinging sensation of being turned into a pin cushion.

"Ugh…of all times to hesitate," groaned Sasuke as he rushed closer to the outside of Haku's strange technique.

Kiba coughed a bit as he tried to stand up despite the burning pain aching through his body. Sasuke tried to calm himself down as he tried to analyze the situation and figure out a way around it. He couldn't just charge in with Kiba; that would be reckless and stupid and would result in both of them being trapped in Haku's technique. At the same time, Kiba could most definitely not take this kind of attack much longer given his current struggle to even stand properly. Utilizing fire techniques would be out of the question…he couldn't risk incinerating Kiba.

Kiba let out another feral roar that seemed to release some sort of Chakra pulse that stopped another wave of incoming needles. Kiba managed to get on all fours and his gazed darted around rapidly as he tried to track Haku's movement. Sasuke's eyes managed to catch glimpses of Haku's movement as he seemed to dash around from mirror to mirror while striking at Kiba. While Kiba seemed to be able to catch glimpses of Haku's movement, he wasn't quite quick enough to ever strike back resulting in him suffering numerous cuts on his body as Haku attacked from all directions.

"Inuzuka….FROM YOUR 6!" Screamed out Sasuke as he got a lock on Haku's movement pattern.

Kiba quickly whipped around and managed to grab Haku's arm and seemingly yanked him out of thin air. As Kiba sharped his claws on his other hand for the counterattack, his movement seemed to falter and that gave Haku just enough time to break free from Kiba's grasp and re-enter the mirror.

"Oh for….ugh, this is going nowhere," sighed Sasuke as he gathered some Chakra to his legs and broke out into a dash.

Kiba became frustrated as he was receiving numerous injuries and he had just let another chance to end this battle slip out of his fingers due to his internal conflict. All of a sudden, he felt a sharp pain in the back of the head and he suddenly found himself face first into the dirt and his vision faded to black before he could comprehend what happened.

"What….what're you doing," growled Haku as he witnessed Sasuke kick Kiba off to the side and away from the battle.

"Taking a life is not always easy…..even if one is the enemy…..some are late bloomers in this department," murmured Sasuke as he gazed at Kiba's motionless body.

"….and others?' Asked Haku rather rhetorically.

"Well….others may get an early jump ahead…..some might even call them….prodigies," growled Sasuke as he suddenly was enveloped in a rather dark purple aura and a dark feeling of dread suddenly welled up within Haku.

"What….the….hell?" Stuttered Haku as he looked at Sasuke.

* * *

Kiba groaned as he the sight of the blurry blue sky filled his view. He rubbed his eyes for a bit before the memories of the battle came back to him and he quickly sat up before gazing around wildly. He noticed blood stains all around him before his sight came to Sasuke sitting on a rather large rock while taking a puff of a cigarette.

"Sasuke?! What happened? Where's Haku?" Asked Kiba frantically.

"Relax….it's all over," replied Sasuke as he exhaled a puff of smoke.

"….Since when do you smoke?" Asked Kiba rather apprehensively.

"Since I was 12….bad move," remarked Sasuke as he took another puff.

"Sorry about…..my hesitation," muttered Kiba as he hung his head in shame.

"Don't be…..I understand…..but also don't forget what your job is…..it will happen sooner or later. Someone won't always be around to make sure you aren't directly responsible," replied Sasuke as he finally met Kiba's gaze.

Kiba remained silent as he looked around before he noticed something rather peculiar; Haku's body was nowhere to be found.

"….Where's the body? Did Haku get away?...Or did you….," trailed off Kiba as he thought about Sasuke's last remark.

Sasuke took another puff before he dropped his cigarette and stepped on it with his foot to put it out. While he knew what he said was true….he also knew that performing such actions would induce mental stress on many people….and while he might've been annoyed at the time….he wouldn't hold it against Kiba for hesitating; after all, keeping one's innocence for as long as possible….wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

"Which answer would you prefer to hear?" Asked Sasuke as he looked off into the distance.

Kiba remained silent for a moment as Sasuke's words sunk in. He came to the realization that neither answer would really help him cope with the situation before him. Even if Haku did escape….Sasuke's calm attitude would suggest that he wasn't worried about the possibility that Gato would escape…and if he was brought to justice….then Haku's family…..even if Haku got away….such a tragic story.

"I don't know….," whispered Kiba.

"Then I will tell you what you want to hear…..he escaped," stated Sasuke.

Kiba slowly nodded his head at the revelation. While he couldn't really say Sasuke's words were particularly convincing, it did feel a little comforting to be in the dark about the complete truth despite what all signs would suggest. In the end….it would all be supposition….Kiba would never truly know the complete truth of what happened and he honestly had no intention of finding out.

Sometimes that was enough.

* * *

"You're back!" Yelled out Inari as he spotted the four Leaf operatives approaching the edge of town.

"Yeah….we got the job done," murmured Sasuke as he and his team looked around and surveyed the damage from the explosion.

It seemed like a lot of buildings were destroyed and that many were injured as well….but a lot of individuals seemed to be helping in cleaning up the area as well as helping the wounded so it was good to know that the damages weren't too severe.

"So….Gato is….?" Trailed off Inari with a rather questioning tone.

"We figured it would be best to let you guys handle his fate," stated Sasuke as he made a hand gesture towards Naruto.

Naruto lifted his hands to reveal two chains coming out of his sleeves that were trailing behind him. They retracted a bit and revealed an unconscious Gato that was tied up.

"We disposed of as many gang members as we could but a number of them did flee…..but you don't need to worry; I don't think they're coming back," revealed Ino with a small smile.

"Thank you….thank you so much…..because of you….the nightmare is finally over!" Cried out Inari in tears as many of the towns people joined in and began clapping.

"It's a shame about the explosion though….," murmured Kiba as he looked around.

"Yeah….it really is….while unfortunate, all of us didn't expect victory to not come without a price. We were prepared for the fact that sometimes…..it requires some sacrifice," murmured Inari as his face fell along with many of the townspeople.

"Yes…..sometimes it does," sighed Sasuke as he turned around and looked at the ground before walking away.

* * *

Naruto grit his teeth as he stormed up to the office of the headmaster. It had been nearly a year since his first mission to Water Country and he had been on numerous missions alongside Sasuke….but something had come to his attention in light of recent events and he needed to make sure it was tended to.

"You have to stop this," growled Naruto as he pushed open the doors to Sarutobi's office.

"Hello Naruto….how can I help you?" Asked Sarutobi as he raised his eyebrow at Naruto's attitude.

While Naruto had never been a quiet one that respected everyone….he usually did not act quite like this in front of his superiors.

"You're going to destroy his mind!" Yelled out Naruto as he slammed both hands on the headmaster's desk.

"I still have no idea what you're talking about," sighed Sarutobi.

"Don't play dumb with me….you always make him the leader…and I know you read the details in the mission report," spat out Naruto.

* * *

" _We secured the materials and the flashdrive with the intel and notes on the experiment," reported Shino as he regrouped with Sasuke and Lee and handed the flashdrive to Sasuke._

" _Where is Uzumaki?" Demanded Sasuke as he took the flash drive and put it in his pouch._

" _He's currently holding the stragglers back, he told me to go ahead while he bought me some time and shook the enemies off my tail," explained Shino._

 _Sasuke nodded as he continued to look through the diagrams on the terminal while occasionally glancing upward at the containment tubes. After a few moments, he pressed several keys and the liquid in the tubes drained while the children inside slowly opened their eyes and fell forward as the tubes opened._

" _What about….them? Asked Lee as he gestured at the test subjects._

 _Sasuke remained silent as he lifted his arm and looked through his Leafpoint device for several moments._

" _These subjects contain the DNA structure necessary to produce the toxin…..we can't let something like that roam free in this world or it'll tilt the scale in the balance of power among these nations. Such a dangerous tool will no doubt be misguided….the only thing we were instructed to save was the anatomy and medicinal research in the flash drive…our remaining orders are…to tie up loose ends," murmured Sasuke as he turned his attention to the children test subjects._

" _You….you can't be serious," said Lee as his eyes widened at the implications._

"… _.I never joke about the mission," muttered Sasuke._

 _Silence fell amongst the three as they stood still and continued to look at the confused and lost expressions on the test subjects._

 _Shino adjusted his sunglasses before breaking the silence, "unfortunate circumstances….but given the situation….I cannot help but agree with the decision."_

" _Unfortunate….indeed," replied Sasuke._

Sasuke's eyes snapped open and he was greeted with the sight of blue skies and white clouds. He sat up breathing rapidly and looked around as he saw that he was in the quad of the academy and lying on the grass alongside Shikamaru and Chouji.

"What's the matter, nightmare?" Asked Shikamaru as he opened one eye and looked at Sasuke's rather frantic expression.

"….You could say that," replied Sasuke as he closed his eyes and rubbed his temple.

"….Are you okay Sasuke? You're kinda….pale," observed Chouji as he munched on his chips.

"Need a light?" Asked Shikamaru as he held out a box of cigarettes.

"I'm fine…..just need to take a walk," muttered Sasuke as he gestured goodbye as his coworkers and began walking back to his dorm.

"…..Think he's alright?" Asked Chouji as he watched Sasuke's retreating form.

"I hope so….he's been through quite a lot," muttered Shikamaru.

"You think….you think the missions are getting to him?"

"Some decisions we make…..hide in the dark reaches of our psych and don't reappear until later…..and others are hidden in plain sight to serve as a reminder," said Shikamaru with a frown as he caught sight of Neji who was escorting Hinata.

"You think it started with the massacre?" Asked Chouji as he continued to munch on his chips.

"I wasn't talking about just him," whispered Shikamaru as he watched Hinata and Neji disappear into the distance.

* * *

"Don't be ridiculous, he's attended psychological sessions to ensure that he is still fit to be on duty," replied Sarutobi as he looked at Naruto's harsh glare.

"Bullshit, I don't believe for a second you think that's true. You know what kind of person he is….he's going to keep it hidden just so he can stay working…there's no way he's going to share these things with some random medical personal," countered Naruto.

* * *

Sasuke splashed some water to his face at the sink and let out a sigh as he looked at himself in the mirror. He was rather pale and bags were visible underneath his eyes from countless nights of no rest….but no matter, there were more important matters that required his attention. He let go of his breath that he didn't even know he was holding before he closed his eyes.

" _I know it was for your son and wife…..but we can't let this go on," muttered Sasuke as he pulled out a knife._

" _Please….you don't understand….I…no….we need this," pleaded the man as Sasuke walked up to him._

" _No…I understand….believe me, I truly do. But what you're doing….it's threatening the peace right now between the nearby towns….soon enough…..this unrest will catch the attentions of the higher ups that run the Great Nations….and the world can't be dragged through another war again…."_

" _No…please…I just need more time!"_

" _Sorry….can't let that happen….have to kill you," murmured Sasuke as he rammed the knife into the man's chest._

 _Sasuke waited until the man's body became motionless before he crouched down to confirm his kill before he felt disgusted and left the warehouse to regroup with his team._

" _Did you guys get everything?" Asked Sasuke as he met up with Hinata, Tenten, and Neji who all nodded._

" _Did…something happen to you?" Asked Tenten as she took notice of Sasuke's troubled look._

" _No….nothing happened," muttered Sasuke as he headed back to the town and gestured for the 3 to follow him._

 _The team arrived back in town and they walked along for several minutes before they arrived in front of the house and Sasuke knocked several times. After a few seconds, a woman opened the door with a little boy standing at her feet._

" _Oh thank goodness your back! Did you find my husband?" Asked the woman._

" _Where's daddy?" Asked the kid as he tugged at his mother's pants._

" _It's been taken care of….neither you nor anyone else here will have to worry about the incidents or disappearances again," Sasuke sighed as he kneeled down in front of the boy and put his hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry kid….you're dad….he….has to disappear for a while…to help make everything right."_

 _The boy looked at Sasuke rather curiously for a few seconds before rapidly nodding his head. His attention was caught as he felt a drop of water hid his cheek causing him to look up and see his mother with her hands at her face._

" _What's wrong mommy?...Why're you crying?"_

" _I'm…..I'm sorry," whispered Sasuke as he lightly bowed his head at the woman before turning back to his team._

Sasuke opened his eyes again and took another deep breath before looking into the mirror again and taking notice of his rather red eyes.

"Maybe I should get some more rest," he muttered to nobody in particular.

* * *

"Regardless…..the council does most of the mission assignments…..without solid proof, I cannot take Sasuke off the active duty roster. There's no way of knowing ahead of time whether or not these missions will turn out this way….it is simply out of our control," sighed Sarutobi.

"He already had to grow up quickly when his family passed….don't do this to him too," muttered Naruto.

"My hands are tied Naruto….now will you fetch him, Danzo wishes to see you and him….don't worry, it's not another mission," assured Sarutobi as Naruto merely grunted and left the office.

* * *

"What's Danzo want with me?" Asked Sasuke as he walked alongside Naruto.

"Dunno….the headmaster didn't really say," shrugged Naruto.

"Danzo huh?...They say he was the original leader of STF before those duties got divided up between the council," murmured Sasuke as they arrived in front of Danzo's office.

Naruto gave one last shrug before opening the doors and entering the rather dimly lit office with Danzo looking out the window situated in the back.

"Hello," he greeted.

"Hi, the headmaster said you wished to see us?" Replied Sasuke.

"Yes….I have come to you two….with an offer," rasped Danzo as he continued to look outside.

"An offer?" Repeated Naruto.

"You, Sasuke…..have been acting leader for all your missions ever since your promotion to operative," spoke Danzo.

"Yes sir," confirmed Sasuke.

"In that time….I know you have made many decisions that were not particularly….easy, nor popular."

"I did what had to be done...for the mission," argued Sasuke.

"Do not misunderstand….I agree, I too would've made those decisions. Acting so decisively without hesitation is the mark of a rather strong leader….and you….Naruto, to follow the order without question…"

"I trust in the captain's decision," stated Naruto rather simply.

"Yes….good…good, that is precisely why I requested both of you. There are dark times ahead of us…and as you know….sometimes…success does not come without difficult choices"

"I've had to make a lot of those," grunted Sasuke.

"Yes….and there may be more ahead of us…which is why I need someone who can make the journey without hesitation….and others who will follow without question."

Silence fell in the office as Danzo's words sunk into Naruto and Sasuke and their eyes slowly widened as they began to understand what he was requesting of them.

"Sir…are you asking us…," began Sasuke.

"Yes…I wish for you to lead a new division that answers to me….the Shadowers…you and a squad handpicked by you will carry out missions under my command. You will be given missions similar to STF which means your identity and mission details are to be withheld from the public. Difficult times are ahead of us…I need those with potential such as you two to be able to ensure the safety and prosperity of the Leaf academy," finished Danzo.

"I….I don't know what to say," stuttered Sasuke.

"I would be a bit disappointed if you took me up on such an offer without some thought….take your time and think it over," instructed Danzo as he dismissed both of them.

* * *

"That….was something else," stated Sasuke as he sat on the couch of his dorm while Naruto took a seat at the kitchen counter.

"Tch…..you really considering it?" Asked Naruto.

"Yeah…why? I thought you would be excited at the prospect of such a huge promotion; you went nuts after our graduation exam."

"I don't really trust this….this entire thing seems shady to me."

"In what way? It's just a covert operations team."

"Yeah? Then why are we to only answer to him? Also, why make a new team just for us? It sounds like we could fit right in with the STF if this is really what it's about. Think about it, no other type of organization exists like this in the other institution. Cloud have FPD, Flash Point Division. Mist have Spectres. Sand has CTU, Covert Tactics Unit. Rock has Phantoms and the Leaf have STF. Why the sudden need to create this extra group?"

"I guess that is kind of weird….but it might just be because we have no intel on these separate groups."

Possibly, but what about this? Who do you have in mind for the team?...Our graduating class as well as Neji, Lee, and Tenten, right?"

Sasuke closed his eyes for a moment as he wasn't really sure what to say to that. Naruto was indeed correct, those were all the individuals he had in mind and it would probably be obvious considering that he had worked alongside all of them this past year and he had hardly interacted with anybody else.

Sakura was a quiet one….she spent most of her time reading and she seemed rather impartial to Sasuke's leadership and actions. Sasuke could never really quite tell what she thought of him….but she never questioned his orders.

Ino was a bit different, while she did add her input quite often in most given scenarios, she never disobeyed orders even if she seemed rather apprehensive about what she was told.

Shikamaru and Shino…..those two seemed to have the least amount of issues with Sasuke as leader. While they did seem a bit disturbed at some of the things Sasuke had to do….they did freely admit that it was the correct action and they openly agreed with his train of thought.

Chouji and Lee….while they showed visual disturbances and hesitation to a lot of the things Sasuke had them do….but they always came around in the end no matter how difficult the orders were initially.

Kiba and Hinata were definitely at the other end of the spectrum. Kiba was rather vocal about the many things Sasuke did or expected of his team and constantly butted heads with him. While Hinata was significantly less vocal, Sasuke could tell that she was often very against what he asked of her.

Neji and Tenten often seemed kind of passive to the decisions Sasuke had to make. Those two often just nodded and carried out their orders in a rather detached manner. Perhaps the year of experience had caused these two to be rather jaded….that didn't explain Lee though.

"Yeah, I was thinking about them…why?"

"If I could figure it out….so could he. I'd like to think that we're the best this academy has ever seen…but even I have my doubts that we have so much potential that we should be inducted to this elite group with barely even a year of field experience. Also, do you see a pattern with the people that Danzo would've guessed for you to include?"

"…..What? That we're all almost the same age?"

"You've talked to them haven't you? If we're not tragic orphans than we're a family currently in the middle of some political civil war or we're part of a shamed clan that's been exiled to the far reaches of the country or simply just shunned. It's that or we're put through very questionable childhood experimentation….we're not individuals with crazy potential. We're just kids with a ton of emotional baggage."

"So…..you're not going to take up his offer?

Naruto was silent for a moment before he reached for an apple and began munching while staring at the wall.

"If you go…..I answer to you…not him," replied Naruto.

 **TBC**

 **Whew! That brings this chapter to an end! I'm not going to be working diligently (I hope!) on the other story to get a new chapter out before I update this one. Leave me a review and let me know how I'm doing!**


	5. Four Of A Kind

**Yeah, I know I said I would update the other story first, but I just felt more compelled to write for this one! I will update the other one soon though, I swear!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything**

 **This chapter is LARGELY dialogue based, sorry if you're not into that =/**

 **Chapter 5:** Four Of A Kind

* * *

 _Chronicles of Thirteen_

 _My brother told me that when it was time for the planet to die, I would realize that I knew absolutely nothing….what an interesting sentiment considering that I feel like I know absolutely nothing right now. The problem with this line of work is that it's never meant to be put in perspective…as a paid merc….the worst thing my mind could ever wander to is trying to figure out who the real douchebag who needs to die is. Gray….man, I hate the color gray._

 _Sasuke_

* * *

"So….what do you guys think?" Asked Sasuke as he stood before Shino and Shikamaru and alongside Naruto.

"Well….I agree with Naruto that everything about this….just seems off…..and it's a drag," muttered Shikamaru as he crouched over and put his hands together.

"Yes….I am also inclined to agree…logically, the formation of such a team strikes me as a rather strange action," agreed Shino as he adjusted his shades. "Though I am curious, why tell us this?"

"Well….I figured that getting some outside opinions would be good….and you two would probably understand to be discreet about this. Also, if I were to go through with this, I would seek you two out to join me," explained Sasuke as he crossed his arms.

"Us two?" Asked Shikamaru rather curiously. "Surely you could find individuals more suited to such a task."

"We've worked together a handful of times over the past year….I find our teamwork as well as both your sets of skills to be valuable. Also, it was implied to me that this team would undertake tasks of…questionable moral nature in a rather gray area. You two seemed to understand the concept of necessary evils while also maintaining the ability to think for yourselves and question me if necessary. I find such qualities rather…valuable for something of this nature," murmured Sasuke.

Shikamaru and Shino were quiet for a few moments as they mulled over the details and information that Sasuke had just relayed to them. While Danzo's proposition did seem rather shifty….he had been part of the higher ups in the Leaf academy for quite some time with very little scrutiny casted upon him. It didn't seem too likely that there was something dark hidden behind the curtains….though they couldn't be a hundred percent certain.

"While I am still a bit disturbed and unnerved to say that I am comfortable with Danzo pulling all the strings….I do find some comfort in the fact that you will be leading us," stated Shino as he lightly nodded in Sasuke's direction. "Objectively….this is a good opportunity for us….such a big leap after being operatives fresh out of the academy. While little is known about him, a conjecture can be formed about Danzo that he essentially seeks to guard the Leaf academy from the shadows….his creation of the STF should be rather representative of that desire. If dark times are truly ahead of us as he claims….we could most definitely do some good in such a position."

"…..So….are you telling me….," trailed off Sasuke as he gestured for Shino to continue.

"I share Naruto's sentiment…..while I may serve him…..I answer to and put my trust in you as our leader," nodded Shino as he extended his hand forward.

Sasuke eyed Shino for a moment before a small smile appeared on his face and he slowly shook Shino's hand before looking over to Shikamaru who still had his eyes closed.

"Bah….such a drag…..but I guess I fit the bill better than most…..leader," scoffed Shikamaru before he slowly smirked and comically saluted Sasuke.

"So….what do you suppose happens now?" Asked Naruto as he turned to Sasuke.

"I'll report to Danzo later about this new development…I imagine he would start us off in training or start with some simpler objectives before having us work our way up….he said we had potential, not that we were ready. I'll contact you guys with any new details later," said Sasuke as the other three nodded.

Naruto and Sasuke both bid Shino and Shikamaru goodbye before they exited the cafeteria and made their way back to the center hub of the institution.

"Do you plan on asking anyone else?" Asked Naruto as he looked around.

"Maybe later….we'll see how it goes with these two first. I don't think some of the others would be….pleased to be under my command for something like this." answered Sasuke.

"Hmmm….I guess, good call," nodded Naruto as he and Sasuke began walking back to their dorm.

* * *

"So….what do you think?" Asked Sasuke rather hesitantly as he stood before Danzo.

"What do I think? I said this team would be handpicked by you…..your decisions do not need my input," replied Danzo as he shuffled some papers across his desk.

"I see…..however, I would like some feedback for my initial decisions….that is not unreasonable, is it?" Asked Sasuke as he crossed his arms.

"That's a fair point," nodded Danzo as he scratched his chin before opening one of the drawers beneath his desk. "Nara Shikamaru and….Aburame Shino you say?"

Sasuke nodded and Danzo rummaged around for a few moments before pulling out two manila folders that were labeled with the aforementioned operative's names. He opened both and glanced over them and narrowed his eyes.

"Hmm….Aburame Shino….markings were above average in most departments during his time as a cadet, has a solid mission record this past year; well suited to midrange combat through his family's techniques. Nara Shikamaru….his close quarters combat is a bit lacking…but displays intellect and deductive skills that haven't been seen in many years…his techniques would be able to cover the squad quite nicely from a defensive position. I'd say you covered your bases quite well for initial recruitment," nodded Danzo as he set the folders down.

"You approve, then?" Asked Sasuke.

"Once again…whether or not I approve does not matter, this is your team, Sasuke," murmured Danzo as he slowly spun his chair around to look out his window.

"I see…..well, do you have our first assignment?" Asked Sasuke.

"Yes….this first assignment of yours shouldn't be terribly difficult….hopefully. This will most likely act as an assessment for you and your squad to ballpark just how well you guys can work together and what sort of aggregate strength you may possess."

"Hmm…I expected as much; what's the contract?"

"There isn't exactly a contract, we recently lost contact with a research and development team up in the north. One of my contacts can give you clearer information at a small location in a small settlement called Yuki," explained Danzo as he lifted his arm up and began inputting commands into his Leafpoint.

"Do you suspect foul play?" Inquired Sasuke as he crossed his arms.

"Yes….my contact said that the team seemed relatively normal until just a week ago when they sent back reports that they were on the verge of a breakthrough. Suddenly, technological and power failures started occurring which I suspect would be sabotage before the entire team seemed to vanish," stated Danzo.

"I see….who exactly is this contact of yours?"

"He was a former operative of Mist before he renounced them after the great purge…..he's not exactly on best terms with that institution….nor the law," explained Danzo.

"…..So we're breaking the law now?" Asked Sasuke rather hesitantly.

"He's a renegade…..that merely wishes to be alone these days. Mist hunters are on the lookout for him but all he does is hide with different alias's and do civilian work to get by, hardly a criminal worth catching if you ask me," shrugged Danzo.

"….What exactly did he do to be under scrutiny of the law?"

"Eh, officially it was because he was a deserter who defied his superiors…..in actuality? No idea. Doesn't matter, an ally lost to them and one gained for us," stated Danzo.

"What's a research team doing out all the way up there anyways?"

"They were assigned a project with certain resources that only grow in the cold northern weather….the location was necessary for their…work."

"What makes you so sure that this mission shouldn't be terribly difficult?"

"Well, there are no signs of any dangerous individuals in the area according to our intelligence network….I see no reason for the work we were pursuing nor the town in the area to catch the attention of any notorious criminal or crime ring. Of course there's always the smallest of chances of error that a dangerous individual might be wandering the area at the time….but that is just something we can't account for," shrugged Danzo.

"I see….anything else I should be made aware of?"

"Yes…seeing as how there's no contract…and this project of ours was kept quiet, do try not to be recognized or caught by the foreigners….the battlefield in the aftermath of the last war is still warm and Lightning country isn't particularly fond of us. They won't take kindly to us snooping around without the guise of a contract," informed Danzo as he gestured to dismiss Sasuke.

"Hmph, keep to the shadows. Got it," saluted Sasuke as he turned and exited Danzo's office.

* * *

"This mission is under the radar of the rest of the world and even most of our normal contacts and assistant groups we get from the academy will be left in the dark. Apparently the research was classified so we need to find our own means of travel, Danzo did give us a stipend for the trip though," explained Sasuke as he stood with Shikamaru, Naruto, and Shino at the front gates.

"Bah….this first mission already sounds like trouble….but you said it was fairly unlikely to run into extreme danger, right?" Asked Shikamaru.

"That is correct, we need to stay in incognito the entire time…so let's keep our headbands hidden and NOT accidentally refer to our employers," growled Sasuke as he glared at Naruto.

"Hey hey…won't happen again, I swear," protested Naruto rather sheepishly.

"Do we have proper fake foreign identification?" Questioned Shino.

"No, it's best we stay away from any type of officials that mark and track individuals coming and leaving through town…we can use fake names at various places we stay….but keep interaction with the locals to a minimum," instructed Sasuke. "We got several days of traveling ahead of us….let's move; Danzo said that his contact is waiting for us at the inn at Yuki and that he would be….easy to spot."

The rest of the squad all saluted in agreement as they broke out into a dash and exited the vicinity of the Leaf Academy and towards the setting sun.

* * *

"What's the point of travelling so late? We got maybe only several miles out. Does Danzo really expect us to get there in a matter of days on foot?" Asked Shikamaru as he helped in setting up camp.

"We left later in the evening to avoid individuals even within our own institution from noticing; Danzo doesn't want our mission or the project details to come under scrutiny. We're going on foot for a bit before taking a train which will take us the rest of the way there," explained Sasuke.

"This logistics of this mission continue to get stranger the more you speak of it," murmured Shino as he managed to get a small fire going.

"Do we know anything about this contact of his other than the fact he's a Mist defector?" Asked Naruto.

"Wait, we're chasing after someone who's running from the law? Great, one day into this new gig and it's already turning out to be a drag," complained Shikamaru as he fished out a cigarette. "Can I get a light?"

Sasuke merely rolled his eyes before he gathered some Chakra and coughed a bit in Shikamaru's direction causing some sparks to fly out and ignite the end of Shikamaru's cigarette.

"Ugh….you smoke too? Gah, why? It already sucks that Sasuke does," whined out Naruto as he pretended to gag.

"You want one?" Asked Shikamaru as he offered the carton to Sasuke who shrugged and took one whereas Shino merely lifted his hand to signal a pass.

"The colony doesn't particularly like those chemicals flowing into my body," explained Shino.

"Bah, why do you two even bother smoking?" Asked Naruto.

"It…calms my body down," shrugged Sasuke.

"….From what?" Asked Naruto rather confused.

"From our amazing hobby of gardening that we partake in every day," answered Shikamaru rather sarcastically.

"Wait, you two garden?" Asked Naruto rather dubiously as his eyes widened.

"I believe….he was being sarcastic, Sasuke probably uses it as a way to cope from missions," responded Shino as he readjusted his shades.

"Oh….man, you could've just said that, Shikamaru," pouted Naruto as he crossed his arms. "What about smoking is so relaxing to you?"

"The thought of imminent lung cancer," answered Shikamaru as Sasuke and Shino merely chuckled.

"Bah….screw you guys," muttered Naruto as he threw his hands up and retreated into one of the tents.

"I think I will retire as well…..wake me when it's my turn to watch," murmured Shino as he followed Naruto.

Sasuke and Shikamaru sat together in silence around the fire as they kept watch for their allotted period of time. While they weren't particularly worried about being ambushed in their current area, it was better to be safe than sorry….or dead.

"So…., you and Naruto…," trailed off Shikamaru as he dropped his cigarette and stepped it out.

"…..are you asking me if we're gay? I can assure you that I'm not…..however, can't speak for Naruto," replied Sasuke with a rather amused look.

"No,' scowled Shikamaru as he shot Sasuke a glare. "I just happened to notice how much faith Naruto puts in your leadership as opposed to….others."

"Yep….that he does," agreed Sasuke as he nodded while Shikamaru merely scowled at the answer.

"Care to add more of your incredible insight?" Asked Shikamaru rather sarcastically.

"You know….I have no idea, never asked him why. He just does," grinned Sasuke.

"Would you trust him to do the same?" Questioned Shikamaru.

"Probably not…..Naruto's not much of a thinker," responded Sasuke.

"That's interesting…so, you've never been curious as to why he has no issues whatsoever just listening to whatever it is you tell him to do?"

"Nope…I was curious at one point…..but now I just accept it as it is. He trusts me to always pursue the best decision just as I trust him to always listen to what I say," shrugged Sasuke as he dropped his cigarette and stepped it out.

Sasuke and Shikamaru sat in silence before Shikamaru took out a deck of cards from his pocket and shot Sasuke a look who merely shrugged and nodded. Shikamaru then took out another cigarette before gesturing at Sasuke who merely shook his head and then Shikamaru began dealing.

"Dealer gets free game?" Asked Sasuke to which Shikamaru nodded.

"You play a lot of heads-up?" Asked Shikamaru.

"Not really, playing against Naruto would be like extortion…..like I said, he's not much of a thinker," smirked Sasuke.

Sasuke put two dollars down while Shikamaru merely scowled upon looking at his hand and chucking his cards into the middle to signal a fold.

"Bah, piece of shit luck," muttered Shikamaru as he took a puff and exhaled out a cloud of smoke.

Sasuke chuckled as Shikamaru tossed him the deck and then Sasuke proceeded to deal out a new hand.

"So…..why do you smoke? Missions?" Asked Sasuke as he took a glance at his new hand and put down 2 dollars.

Shikamaru stayed silent as he analyzed his hand before he put down 5 dollars, "You ever enjoy doing something…..but then one moment sort of ruins it all and then you decide you never want to do it again?"

"No….not really, but continue," replied Sasuke as he put down an additional 3 dollars to match Shikamaru.

"People used to praise me for my critical thinking, deductive skills, and also claimed that I was probably going to be one of the best minds of this time," claimed Shikamaru.

"….and humble," chuckled Sasuke as he burned the top card off the deck and revealed the next 3.

Shikamaru ignored Sasuke's jib and continued, "I was on my way to completing 3 focuses in time for graduation; sealing, mathematics, physiology and anatomy.

"That's an…..interesting combination," mused Sasuke.

"Critical thinking, logical deduction, and brute memorization…..three things I happen to be skilled at and are needed for my three focuses," murmured Shikamaru as he put down another dollar.

"So….what'd you do that made you want to drop them?" Inquired Sasuke as he put down a dollar as well and burned a card and revealed the next top card.

"I got an extra credit assignment handed to me….creating a seal for biological purposes," murmured Shikamaru as he looked to the sky.

"How'd that go?" Inquired Sasuke.

 _Flashback_

" _I got it! I got it!" Shouted Shikamaru rather excitedly as he ran up to his father and waved a piece of paper rapidly in front of his face._

 _His father's eyes widened as he quickly led Shikamaru to the dining table before sitting down and putting the piece of paper over the table._

" _Alright, explain to me the work," gestured Shikaku._

" _Alright, see the math part of the seal proof needed to be altered through multiple derivations because of the symbols written here and here that'll sync up the cell developmental structures and Chakra nodes," explained Shikamaru excitedly as he pointed at the various diagrams._

" _How are you compensating for the excess buildup of cortisol in the connected muscle tissue as well as the risk for oversaturation in the nodes?" Questioned Shikaku._

" _This secondary design over the first seal to create an odd and even combination allows for the absorption of heat and defuses the excess energy through the tissue to also avoid straining the muscle," explained Shikamaru._

 _Shikaku looked over Shikamaru's work over and over again to make sure there were no more holes to cover. His eyes widened as he slowly came to the realization that his son had truly completed what no other individual could, this would change the course of history for Konoha on a grand scale!_

"… _Does it work dad?" Asked Shikamaru as he raised his eyebrows at extended silence of his father._

 _End Flashback._

"It took me awhile, but I nailed it," stated Shikamaru as he tapped his hand on the floor.

Sasuke raised his eyebrows at the lack of details but merely nodded as he burned another card and revealed the next card before turning his attention back to Shikamaru.

"What happened afterwards?"

 _Flashback_

"… _..What…what is this?" Asked Shikamaru as he looked at all the quivering bodies while standing alongside his father._

" _It….it was necessary son….you did your home a great service," murmured Shikaku._

" _This…this is the result of my work?...You used me….FOR THIS?" Screamed out Shikamaru as he turned and glared at his father._

" _Listen son, I know this is hard for you to understand, but this was for the greater good in the grand scheme of things," assured Shikaku._

"… _Father…..these are people…living, breathing people. How can you possibly justify subjugating them to this?" Uttered Shikamaru rather deadpanned._

" _Look, this has long been discussed amongst many higher ups as well as myself. All simulations and studies showed that if this went unchecked, political unrest would've happened and all signs pointed to war resulting in a fragmentation and power vacuum in Konoha's hierarchy. A quick solution was necessary," explained Shikaku._

" _How is something like….THIS….ever necessary?"_

" _We needed to solve the problem quickly….the first solution implemented years ago had an oversight that was quickly becoming noticed….there was truly no other way as we were running out of time. It was this….or risk a weakened power structure in the face of our former political enemies."_

 _Shikamaru remained silent as he looked at the vicious sight in front of him. If what his father was saying was true, then he was definitely correct. It was terrible that something would come to this….but it did seem like there was truly nothing else that could be done that was a better choice. Despite the logical reasoning that Shikamaru could identify, he could not rid the terrible feeling that was coursing through his entire body._

" _I….I suppose….if there was truly nothing else that could be done…," trailed off Shikamaru as he turned and walked away._

 _End Flashback_

"I caused a lot of unrest and the destruction of one of the oldest factions in Fire country that probably affects everyone to this very day," chuckled Shikamaru as he dropped another dollar.

"Jeeze….what kind of mission was this?" Asked Sasuke as his eyes widened.

"I hadn't graduated yet, remember?...I was nine," chuckled Shikamaru.

"Well, don't you have a rather impressive resume," smirked Sasuke as he too dropped another dollar.

"Haha….I'm not sure if it's something worth sharing with people," smirked Shikamaru as he revealed his hand.

"It's something," replied Sasuke as he looked at Shikamaru's hand before scowling and revealing his own hand.

"You don't seem surprised about this, I would assume that most usually are," noted Shikamaru as he pocketed the money that both individuals had thrown down.

"Everyone has a story to tell…..whenever you're ready," nodded Sasuke.

"How about you? You said you started smoking when you were 12, right? Did you do something wild and crazy in the early years?" Asked Shikamaru as he dealt out another hard for himself and Sasuke.

Sasuke looked at the two cards face down in front of him before he gazed upward into the sky and noticed it was another full moon. Gazing at the moon brought up a haze of memories of blood spraying everywhere and the blank expressions of his family before they were torn apart….for the second time. The bloody blade that he left by the graveyard before he ditched his compound forever had left such a nauseating feeling within him the very moment he gazed upon it.

"You could say that," murmured Sasuke as he picked up the new hand he was dealt.

* * *

"How do you suppose those two passed the time as they stood on watch?" Asked Shino as he looked over to Naruto who was sitting on a log across from him.

"I dunno…probably smoking and bonding over their personality traits of sarcastic douchebag," scowled Naruto.

"I've been curious about this for a while now…..you say that you and Sasuke essentially grew up together, correct?" Asked Shino as he shoved both hands into the pockets of his jacket.

"Yeah, we've known each other a little bit before we started at the academy together. We've been roommates ever since," replied Naruto as he began to fiddle with a kunai.

"While I've been impressed by the extent of Sasuke's decisiveness, conviction, and determination so far…..I must admit that I still take time to second guess him in my head in order to convince myself to follow his orders," stated Shino.

"That seems pretty reasonable, Sasuke did mention he valued your ability to think for yourself," nodded Naruto.

"Yes….but I'm always amazed at you who always salutes and follows Sasuke without a doubt in your mind. Do you truly believe that Sasuke can't make a mistake in his orders?" Questioned Shino.

"I know he can make mistakes….what I trust will always be his innate desire to seek out the best decision…and the truth. So long as that resides with him, I will never hesitate to heed his words," shrugged Naruto.

"If I may ask….what makes you have so much faith in that pursue of his?" Pried Shino.

"Hmmm…..might be kinda weird to say….he sort of…raised me," shrugged Naruto.

"Raised you….in what sense?"

"We were both without family at such a young age when he befriended me…..he was the one that encouraged me to try and join the Leaf academy. He taught me the basics of hand-to-hand combat and would often give me books to study up and improve myself from the academy standards. Without him….I might've not graduated at the same time he did. He used his family's leftover money to pay for a lot of my living costs before I started working."

"Hmm….that's interesting, I would not expect something like that coming from Sasuke."

"Yeah, he doesn't seem like a very friendly guy most of the time….but he did a lot for me as we were growing up."

"Do you ever wonder why he chose to befriend you out of everyone?"

"Hmmm, I never asked. I think it's because of how everyone treated him right after he lost his family. Sasuke bottled a lot of it up inside himself…..he grew up really quick cause of it and wanted to be independent but everyone tried to coddle him. I think he got sick of it and I just happened to be around and in the same situation as him," recalled Naruto.

"Hmm…..I recall very little about you during the academy years….just some small advice my mother once gave me to be careful around you," mused Shino.

At this, Naruto let out a rather forced chuckle, "What a shocker….I sure wish I knew why."

"If you don't feel uncomfortable speaking….what happened to your family?"

"Hell if I know….my father disappeared on a mission one day and was declared MIA. My mother soon followed after and before I knew it, everyone seemed to glare at me and give me these strange looks of distrust. Nobody would even be willing to talk to me about it at all…..in fact, if I didn't have my parents at the early years, the evidence would suggest that they never even existed."

Hearing this caused Shino to raise his eyebrows. He personally had never seen or heard about Naruto's parents as he was far too young and didn't really know the blonde at the time….but to hear that such a thing had such a huge cover-up was definitely intriguing on some levels.

"Well, enough about me…..how about you, Shino?"

"My health is in fairly good condition, I do not think that anything will hinder me from performing up to my usual capabilities on this mission."

"Not quite what I'm asking…..but that's also good to know."

"Ah….I see, you were inquiring the same sorts of information from that question in similar vein to how I posed questions towards you with an interesting in learning about your origins," noted Shino.

"Uh…yeah sure, let's go with that," chuckled Naruto.

"Well, based on historical knowledge taught at the academy, you probably already knew that the Aburame clan were not one of the royal founding clans of Fire Country and Konohagakure," stated Shino as Naruto merely nodded.

"As you can probably guess, our affiliation with the Kikai date far back into our ancestors when a technique was born in secrecy and passed generation by generation within the family, much like your chains," explained Shino.

"What's that…glowing hot red thing you can do with your Chakra?" Asked Naruto.

"My family…..although we have combat capabilities….I come from a long line of scientists that are mostly chemists and physicists," explained Shino.

"Ah, makes sense, I used to see your family name quite a bit when it comes to research and development," commented Naruto.

"Yes….there's a reason why you _used_ to see my family name on those lists," murmured Shino.

"….That bad, huh?" Chuckled Naruto.

"We pursued a solo project almost a dozen years ago…a project in energy creation which utilized our Chakra as a base for conversion," murmured Shino.

"Woah….so we could literally power things…ourselves?" Asked Naruto with wide eyes.

"In theory…..we had confirmed it on a small scale with various smaller experiments….but when it came to large scale experiments, we were met with various issues and complaints."

"What could be so bad about energy efficiency?"

"The issues weren't about the actual experiment…but certain flaws that began to present themselves. We created a large scale generator that would allow for the extreme concentration and conversion of kinetic energy.

"Errr….. I'm not really that great at science…but isn't a massive amount of kinetic energy gathering at such a singular point….dangerous?" Asked Naruto rather hesitantly.

"Yes….that was one of the projected concerns of our experimental generator. We, however, thought we could circumvent the problem with a few minor modifications and we also believed that the result was worth the risks."

"Eh….I can already tell that this won't end well," muttered Naruto as he shook his head.

"Yes…..but not in the way you're probably imagining," murmured Shino as he looked towards the lightening sky.

"That meaning…..," trailed off Naruto as he gestured for Shino to continue.

"The modifications we made should've contained the failed experiment so that it would only result in power failure and partial internal combustion if there was too much energy; in short, the damages should've been quite minimal. Multiple simulations were done and the calculations checked out that the risks were minimal."

"Did somebody forget to carry the one?" Chuckled Naruto.

"If only it were that easy….the energy concentration caused a meltdown that resulted in a rather large destruction in a large part of business district in Konohagakure."

"How's that have anything to do with your red Chakra thing?" Asked Naruto.

"My father led the research team….and when everything started going wrong, none of the fail safes in place would operate….and a manual shutdown was required."

Naruto remained rather silent as he now was starting to understand exactly what was about to happen. Perhaps Shino had more in common with him and Sasuke then he had originally thought. There was definitely more to this individual than the "creepy bug guy" with the shades that Naruto had originally pegged him as.

"I'm sorry for your loss," murmured Naruto.

"The condolences are appreciated….but do not worry, it's an old, healed wound. I was young at the time….didn't want my dad running off and I didn't clear the safety zone because I wanted to find my father. I caught the edge of the accident and got exposed to a lot of kinetic energy and radiation. The end result is what you see before you," gestured Shino.

"That's….sort of cool. What exactly is it that you do?" Asked Naruto.

"The red streaks you see in my Chakra is my ability to charge various amounts of kinetic energy into it which generates large amounts of heat. My Kikai were affected by the accident and I use them to surround my Chakra nodes to facilitate the integration process."

"I see….so, what caused the fail safes to not work," Asked Naruto before he suddenly became surprised a seeming anger spike that appeared in Shino's voice inflection.

"We have no idea….but all signs pointed to an inside job. Too bad the higher ups didn't see it that way….when the damage site was excavated…the data logs of our experiment didn't reflect the knowledge and execution that we had utilized. Despite our attempts at explaining….everyone just thought we jeopardized lives for the sake of scientific development. I suppose public opinion hasn't ever been the same of us ever since then," growled Shino.

"Yeah….being a pariah is never fun," agreed Naruto.

"I couldn't care less about that these days….everyone is entitled to their own values, beliefs, and opinions. What I wish to know…is who sabotaged us that day and caused the death of my father," murmured Shino as his voice returned back to level.

"What a million dollar question," sighed Naruto, "it's nearly dawn, let's wake the other two and be off."

* * *

"Here we are boys….the town of Yuki," said Sasuke as he got off the train along with the rest of his team.

"So where exactly, do we meet this contact?" Asked Shikamaru as he gazed around the bustling town.

"He mentioned the local inn is where our friend will be staying," stated Sasuke as individuals started giving them strange looks due to their attire. 'Let's avoid names if possible….to avoid attention."

The rest of the three nodded at this suggestion before they began walking through the time. Within moments, Shikamaru had pointed out a lodge situated within the center of town that was the designated staying place.

"Well, we were informed that he would hard to miss….with no indication as why that would be true," murmured Shino.

"I'm gonna go with….that guy," drawled Shikamaru as he pointed to a booth in the corner with a rather tall individual who had a giant sword leaning against the wall.

"Jesus, how has he stayed hidden with something like that?" Asked Naruto as Sasuke merely shrugged and walked over towards the individual.

Sasuke stayed silent as he sat in front of the individual which caught the man's attention. The man looked at Sasuke rather apprehensively before Sasuke reached into his pouch and tossed out a dog tag onto the table that had the letters SHDW on them. He then lifted his arm and pressed a few buttons on his Leafpoint device which brought up the image of Danzo.

"….Four kids huh? Your leader must have a lot of faith to send you guys in after my report…..I sure hope you guys are the most talented kids to have ever existed," laughed the man.

Sasuke ignored the jab as he looked at this individual rather apprehensively, "and you are?"

"My name is Momochi Zabuza, I take it that all four of you have absolutely no idea why you're here?" Chuckled Zabuza.

The four merely nodded causing Zabuza to continue laughing for a few moments before he gathered his bearings and cleared his throat.

"Go figure for that man to stay cryptic….I still don't see why he would just send four kids over," stated Zabuza who was clearly still amused.

"We're enough….trust me," glared Sasuke as he crossed his arms.

"Please…you four are hardly out of your diapers….what could you possibly be enough for?" Smirked Zabuza.

"Enough to kill you," growled Sasuke as he maintained his glare.

"Hah! Seems like you've got some backbone….not bad kid…well listen up then, you and your buddies are going to have to deal with a lot of shit….."

* * *

 _Chronicles of Thirteen_

 _Everyone always talks about how doing the "right" thing isn't easy. What they often forget is that figuring out the "right" thing is significantly more difficult at times. What exactly is it that we're suppose to use as a measure to figure out what makes something right or wrong? What gives us the right to even create this distinction at all?_

 _Shikamaru_

* * *

 **TBC**

 **Whew! That's it! I SWEAR I'll update the other story next (already in the works…maybe like 40% through)**

 **Yeah, lot of talking in this chapter instead of stuff happening…fair bit of warning, while future chapters probably won't quite be as extensive as this one in dialogue, this story will probably be more driven by dialogue than other aspects (the others will be there, just character/dialogue will be most prominent). This is just cause I think for a story more about people and how they interact, it's much easier and makes more sense to write it this way. Of course, there'll be a lot of other things, just that every now and then there will be a chapter more akin to this type. Shoot me a review to let me know how I'm doing!**


	6. Two of Diamonds

**So, I apologize for how long it has been since my last update. This is a combination of me being unmotivated as of late and that the fall semester came to an end. I know I said I would update the other story first, and I do have a little over half that chapter written, but every time I read over my work when I finish, I just end up really frustrated with what I've written and rather unhappy so I scrap it and try again. I mentioned before how the core points of that story are already planned out and I'm just trying to fill the space in between (I have the ending thought out already) but certain things I wrote at the beginning on a whim are sort of removing some options I want to explore in order to keep the story consistent so I've been trying to write around it. I normally find motivation by thinking about the ending I leave off in the chapter and seeing where my imagination takes me so my update speed is rather erratic as sometimes my imagination fails me. Anyhow, I've found more motivation to write towards Thirteen instead so I figured I might as well update something with what I have instead of sitting around and hoping motivation finds me for another story.**

 **Chapter 6:** Two of Diamonds

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing**

"Speaking"

 _Thinking_

* * *

 _Chronicles of Thirteen_

 _When my parents vanished on me as I was a child, I would often stand by the gates day and night awaiting their return. Sasuke once mentioned to me that he thought I was simply wasting my time waiting around for their return, but I never once believed that. If someone is waiting, that place becomes a place to return to. You may send them off, but they will return to you._

 _Uzumaki Naruto_

* * *

"A lot of shit to deal with….what a helpful guy," muttered Naruto as he opened the door to the hidden laboratory up in the nearby mountain of Yuki.

"Quit your complaining….everyone, split up and search for anything that could help us," ordered Sasuke.

Naruto nodded and created several clones before they all darted in different directions whereas Shino simply lifted both arms and a portion of insects flew out of his sleeves and also spread out through the lab. Shikamaru strolled over to some tables that were setup as he examined the notes as well as booting up the leftover computer terminal.

"Anything?" Inquired Sasuke as he walked up to Shikamaru.

"Well…the research notes seem intact and the equipment list is actually accounted for with everything here. The logs have all been deleted though and this terminal only makes note of research progress," murmured Shikamaru as he glossed over several pages and pressed several keys on the terminal.

"So…what was this research team looking into?" Asked Sasuke.

"Hmmm….something about how the crystals developed in the deeper ends of the mountains were hardened by Chakra making a sort of….barrier of sorts based on their natural mutated structures….seems like maybe a type of armor development?" Suggested Shikamaru as he handed Sasuke some of the papers.

"Hmm…it looks like they were mainly in the early alpha stages of testing…doesn't seem to be anything of value to take or disrupt," noted Sasuke as he looked over the notes as well.

"There's a rather large amount of dried blood and signs of struggle in most of the smaller eastern rooms….I think that rules out desertion or betrayal," announced Naruto as he reappeared in the main room.

"My bugs have not found any personal belongings nor attachments….whoever did the abductions…they wanted to make sure to not have the scientists found," murmured Shino as the kikai returned to his sleeves.

"No, the large amounts of blood implies that the condition of the individuals were not terribly important which also implies that they didn't need them for any working purpose. However, if they only wanted to withhold information from us…they could have simply killed them; we're missing something here," stated Shikamaru as he furrowed his eyebrows.

"Maybe they were just interested in the research?" Suggested Naruto.

"Possibly…..if that were the case then it wouldn't make sense to simply leave the research logs here….no equipment was taken either. We also don't know how far the research gotten before the attack happened….they may have left out critical notes because there wasn't any time to record them," pointed out Shikamaru.

"Well….it's our only lead for now….take what you can and let's head back and think this over at the inn, there's definitely a missing piece," murmured Sasuke as he gestured for his squad to follow him.

* * *

"I got a mission update from Danzo…..he wants us to figure out what happened and salvage whatever we can from the experiments if the researchers cannot be located," announced Sasuke as he scrolled through his Leafpoint.

"You brats figure anything else yet?" Asked Zabuza as he approached the four that were gathered around the table.

"If we make reasonable assumptions based on the given evidence…..halting the research was part of the goal but that doesn't seem to include the possibility of destroying all progress and removing the current research. It would seem the researchers were not needed for any actual research done elsewhere but their lives mattered somehow," stated Shikamaru as he stared down at the table.

"Are there any factions in particular that stand to gain a lot from the development of the project?" Questioned Shino.

"Well…the given data is pretty rough and experimental….I don't think they were in any testing stages for the actual creation of their theories. As for factions…well, any faction that's military in nature could seek to gain from protective armor….but as far as I can tell, the researchers really only managed to isolate the chemical combination to create the shield in theory….but highly unstable," explained Shikamaru.

"Just early testing stages? So much for breakthrough," scoffed Naruto.

"Technically speaking, it is appropriate to say near a breakthrough if the estimated time is several months or maybe a year or so," murmured Shikamaru.

"Well….any possible or working theories on what happened?" Asked Zabuza.

"Well…it could always be a crapshoot like Mist hunters caught whiff of you and then happened to stumble over the lab and decided it was worth raiding," shrugged Shikamaru.

"….Well, that is possible…no matter how unlikely. I doubt they would kill first and ask questions later….and I'm fairly confident that I've been moved down in the priority list considering my lack of notable action over the last few years," murmured Zabuza.

"Perhaps…..the researchers came across the missing piece and that's all the perpetrators were looking for? They would confirm the usage via the research logs and then merely kill the researchers so that the data lacked confirmation," suggested Shino.

"If that were the case…..there wouldn't really be a need to hide the bodies," stated Shikamaru.

"Maybe it was just done to throw confusion in the mix," suggested Naruto.

"That's possible….but if we take those possibilities into account….well, we can't really confirm anything at that point," murmured Shikamaru.

"Hmmm….how do you suppose the bodies were moved? There was a rather large amount of blood…..but there weren't any trails at all leading towards the exit of the laboratory," pointed out Sasuke.

Shikamaru brought his hands together and closed his eyes and he thought over all the details that were before him. After a few moments, his eyes snapped open and widened as he quickly dug through his Leafpoint device before stopping over two separate pages.

"These two…..would match the description of what we just saw," explained Shikamaru as he showed everyone the images on his device.

"Hidan….and Hoshigaki Kisame? Who're they?" Asked Naruto.

"Those two….are pretty high up in this world for most wanted," explained Sasuke. "They're said to be part of the same organization as Deidara; the one we saw in our graduation exam field mission."

"Yes…most of the crimes that these two have been involved with have always had the crime scene splattered with obscene amounts of blood as well as a lack of bodies," stated Shikamaru.

"…..And…why is that?" Asked Naruto who was rather confused.

"…Well, I can't really say for the whole bloody mess thing….but supposedly Kisame devours the bodies of his enemies via his sword," murmured Shikamaru.

"….Come again?...His sword?" Asked Shino with as surprised of a look as a guy with shades could have.

"Yes, his sword, also called the Samehada. He was once part of a specialized task force at Mist. We were known as the seven swordsman of the Mist," spoke Zabuza which caught everyone's attention.

"We?" Inquired Sasuke.

"Yes…we. I once worked alongside him….rather bloodthirsty fellow; no idea about Hidan though."

"Ugh….are you kidding me? Two of this world's most dangerous criminals? I thought this was supposed to be an EASY job," scowled Shikamaru.

"Well, unfortunately it seems the stars aligned perfectly and I happened to strike gold," stated Sasuke rather sarcastically. "Nonetheless, what can you tell us about Kisame?"

"He was, and I assume to still be, an extraordinarily skilled swordsman with a vast pool of Chakra. His technique arsenal mostly consists of water techniques as he was trained within Water country and the Mist academy. Alongside his massive Chakra pool is his rather deadly brute strength. His sword resembles that of a sentient shark when it is unclothed and it can siphon your Chakra out if it strikes you," listed Zabuza.

"What're the odds that we actually run into this duo?" Wondered Naruto.

"Empirically speaking…..we have quite often found ourselves in very bad situations that seem to be statistically unlikely," murmured Shino as Shikamaru merely sighed and rolled his eyes.

"It would depend on what exactly their objective is…there is a chance that they're done with what they came to do and all we have left to do is report back our findings," reminded Sasuke.

"Well….under our recent findings, it would seem the crystal shards that were harvested needed to be nurtured more in a controlled environment of a combination of Wind and Water natured Chakra to get the shards to harden in a very specific molecular structure," murmured Shikamaru as he looked over the research logs.

"Hmmm…..armor compounded with Chakra crystal ice structures…..let me guess, the magic freezing chamber thing is still in the lab?" Sighed Sasuke.

"Yep….and the harvested batch actually should be finished in…four hours," groaned Shikamaru.

"Alright, everybody. Check your gear and prepare for the worst…..we're going to head out," ordered Sasuke.

"I don't suppose we could just report back and say that this was way out of our league?" Asked Shikamaru rather sarcastically.

"Our mission isn't to deal with the criminals at large, it is to secure critical research components. If we get the jump on them, a grab and dash should be possible with our skills," stated Sasuke.

"Good luck brats….I had a score to settle with Kisame at one point…but I've left that life behind already and I'm just a simple information contact…..try not to die," murmured Zabuza as he walked over to the front door.

"Tch, what a helpful guy…..sure could've used a dangerous criminal on OUR side," scowled Naruto.

"Well….he did say we had a lot of shit to deal with on our arrival," muttered Shikamaru.

"Hey, any parting advice for us?" Yelled out Sasuke right before Zabuza had fully left.

"Yeah…..don't get hit," advised Zabuza before he walked out back into the town of Yuki.

"Hang on!" Called out Sasuke as he ran towards the door and tried to catch up with Zabuza.

Sasuke threw opened the doors that lead to the outside as he gazed to his left and right rapidly, hoping to catch a glimpse of what direction Zabuza had headed off to. After a few moments, Sasuke scowled as he realized that Zabuza had vanished on him so he turned around and began trekking back towards his team before he noticed the rather large sword that Zabuza had was leaning against the door.

"I guess you really did leave that part of your life behind," murmured Sasuke as he reached for the blade.

 _What the fuck…..how did he fight with such a heavy weapon?_

* * *

"Don't get hit," mocked Naruto as he quietly opened the entrance to the hidden laboratory.

"Shut up, we might not be alone here," hissed Sasuke as he quickly gazed around the lab.

"The cryogenic chamber should be in the back room," whispered Shikamaru as he gestured forward to which his teammates nodded.

"What is our course of action if we run into Hidan and Kisame?" Whispered Shino.

"Our primary goal is to secure the experimental ice shards….not to kill these two, do NOT forget that. Given the description of Kisame's strength, it would be unwise to match him in head-to-head combat….I doubt any one of us can stand up to his brute strength. Nara, you and Aburame have a more elusive fighting style meaning you should be able to perform offensive and defensive maneuvers without forcing yourself to match Kisame in a feat of strength or be forced to deal with his Chakra absorbing blade. That leaves Uzumaki and I to deal with Hidan. We know nothing about him so we will be acting slow in order to buy time and create openings for you two to either gain an advantage over Kisame or to finish him…..remember to act quickly, the element of surprise and uncertainty is on our side," instructed Sasuke as he neared a small turn at the corner of the room.

Sasuke peered around the corner and cursed his luck as he noticed two individuals wearing the same cloak as Deidara as they stood around the backroom to what Sasuke could assume was the cryogenic chamber.

"Bah, can we leave yet, Kisame?"

"No, Hidan. I already told you that this process takes time…we can leave in a few moments so quit your whining," snarled Kisame.

"Don't use your chains against Kisame…..they are of Chakra construct meaning there's a good chance he can simply siphon your Chakra if he comes in contact," reminded Sasuke as he kept his voice as low as possible.

Naruto nodded as Sasuke then stopped talking for fear of being caught before he began to make rapid hand gestures at his teammates. Sasuke pointed at Shino and then to his sleeves before one arm up and twirling his wrist above his head. He then turned to Shikamaru and gestured towards his pouch before pointing at various points in the wall and then he moved his leg and lightly tapped over Shikamaru's shadow that was casted on the ground. Sasuke then looked towards Shino and Shikamaru for confirmation as he gave them a thumbs up with a questioning look. As Shino and Shikamaru both nodded at Sasuke, he turned his attention to Naruto.

Sasuke thumbed at himself before moving his hand in an upward arcing motion. He then pointed at both of Naruto's wrists before gesturing with his hands almost as if he held an invisible bo staff. Sasuke then made a cross with his fingers before displaying 4 fingers to Naruto on one hand before breaking off and showing Naruto two on each hand with one hand gesturing towards Shino and Shikamaru. As Naruto nodded, Sasuke lifted his right hand upward once more before slowly ticking down from the number five by dropping each finger.

Four

Three

Two

One

As Sasuke dropped his last finger, he quickly turned around the corner and leapt up while Shino merely pointed both hands forward and released a small swarm of Kikai. Naruto crouched over and paused for a second before also turning the corner while Shikamaru quickly became eclipsed by his shadow as he entered into the wall.

"Hidan, behind you!" Barked Kisame as he drew his sword.

"Kisame, above you!" Snarled Hidan as he reached for his scythe.

Kisame's head snapped upward and saw the Kikai swarm descending down on him so Kisame quickly swung his blade upward in an attempt to destroy the swarm. Hidan turned around and swung his scythe which intercepted Sasuke's swing of the Kubikiribocho from the air as the sound of metal clashed with metal.

"Well well, what do we have here," sneered Hidan as he took a closer look at Sasuke. "Hehe….now how did a kid like you come across a sword like that? You don't seem to have the strength to swing it like its previous owner though."

Sasuke said nothing before he dropped the massive blade and turned sideways to let the weight of Hidan's strike go past him causing Hidan to stumble a bit. Sasuke then drew a knife holstered at his ankles and swung at Hidan's chest. Hidan quickly leapt back to avoid the attack but then two silver chains suddenly darted at him from his side causing him to widen his eyes as he readied his scythe for a parry. He swung his scythe which destroyed two of the chains before a pair of chains snaked from behind him and circled around his weapon.

 **Fire Style: Grand Fireball**

Hidan looked forward to see Sasuke exhale a smoldering yellow fireball in his direction and he had no choice but to scoff and let go of his scythe and roll away.

Kisame swung his blade at the incoming swarm causing the swarm to part in the middle to avoid the attack but a portion of the Kikai were swiped away. As he regained his bearings, Kisame caught a glance at the floor and noticed a shadow darting at him in a rather quick manner so he quickly leapt upward and readied his blade. Shikamaru seemed to jump out of the shadow and threw two kunai to which Kisame merely deflected with his blade and fell uselessly towards the ground. As Kisame landed, Shikamaru merely smirked as he pointed at the ground towards the two explosive tags that were placed on each kunai hilt. Kisame rolled his eyes before an explosion erupted from his feet and kicked up a lot of dust into the air.

"Kisame!" Barked out Hidan as he turned his attention over towards his partner. "Did you REALLY just get bested by these brats?"

"There's hardly room for you to talk considering they somehow managed to disarm you," growled Kisame from within the smoke as it slowly began to clear. "Hmph….you kids aren't half bad….it's just a shame that it isn't quite enough to match us."

Kisame swung his blade downward into the ground and a water fissure jetted forward towards Shikamaru and resulted in a pillar of water exploding up causing Shikamaru to be knocked back onto his back. Kisame then jumped up and swung his massive blade downward with the intention of cleaving Shikamaru in two. Shikamaru barely managed to roll onto his right shoulder before the massive blade smashed the floor where Shikamaru was just mere moments before. As Kisame lifted his blade back up, Shikamaru quickly flashed through a series of seals before glaring at Kisame.

 **Hidden Art: Shadow Stitching**

Thin black lines seemed to extend out of Shikamaru's shadow as they darted forward before leaping upward into existence and piercing through Kisame's body causing his eyes to widen. Shikamaru let out a sigh and sat up before he noticed that Kisame's look of shock quickly turned into a smirk before he turned into water and exploded causing Shikamaru to be drenched. Shikamaru brushed the water out of his eyes before he looked up and noticed the real Kisame standing exactly where Shikamaru's explosive tags went off with a rather bored look on his face. Shikamaru took one look at Kisame before looking over to the smashed up stone floor with rather wide eyes as he quickly scrambled to get back onto his feet.

… _.No way….clones are only as strong and durable as the amount of Chakra given by the user…not to mention that there wasn't any actual water in the area meaning he had to compensate with additional Chakra. That clone survived a near point-blank explosion and still managed enough brute strength to destroy so much of the solid floor of the cave. The force of that attack….I automatically threw out the possibility of a fake because of how strong he was….but this….this is WAY out of our league!_

Shikamaru looked up just in time to watch Shino draw out two Sais and engage Kisame. Shino swung the first Sai vertically and Kisame lazily blocked by holding Samehada diagonally downward. Shino then reversed the grip of his 2nd Sai and did a downward slashing motion and caught the flat of Samehada with the tip of his Sai.

"Hmph…not a bad attempt kid….trying to make your own opening," acknowledged Kisame. "But…such simple tactics won't work on me….do you even know who you're dealing with?"

Kisame grit his teeth for a moment before pushing upward with his blade which surprised Shino and threw him off balance and caused him to tumble back a bit. As Kisame moved forward to chase Shino, he caught sight of Naruto jumping through the air towards him with a fist reeled back. Kisame stepped back and readied Samehada to cleave Naruto but then noticed another Naruto sliding along the ground in his direction from his side. Kisame then the flat side of Samehada up to absorbed the punch from the Naruto in the air before then performing a sweep kick to knock away the clone sliding along the ground.

"This isn't working, Sasuke!" Shouted Naruto as he narrowly avoided a kick by Hidan. "We took his weapon, but it doesn't seemed to have slowed him down!"

Moments after Naruto's statement, he took a rather wide horizontal swing with Hidan's scythe and Hidan merely smirked and grabbed at the midsection of the weapon and stopped its movement which caused Naruto's eyes to widen as he gulped.

"Hmph….bad mistake kid….you lack finesse to fight with this weapon," smirked Hidan as he yanked the weapon forward.

Naruto was pulled forward before he was kneed in the stomach by Hidan causing him to gasp and tumble back. As Hidan secured his weapon, Sasuke dashed forward and swung the massive cleaver horizontally at Hidan to which he ducked quickly. As Hidan ducked, he noticed two Naruto's at his side that both threw an uppercut which knocked Hidan into the air. As he soared up, a pair of chains darted forward and snatched the scythe back causing Hidan to scoff as he flipped over and landed back on his feet.

"….and you lack the intelligence to take this weapon back," mocked Naruto as he got back onto his feet and stood between his 2 clones.

"Hah…..but we're back to square one kid….and you and your buddy are starting to look just a bit tired," smirked Hidan as he took note of Naruto and Sasuke's uneven breathing.

"Well, he definitely has us there," murmured Naruto as he turned over to his captain. "We need a plan of attack."

Sasuke remained silent for a moment as his eyes darted around the room before he exhaled and looked over to Naruto, "I have a plan; attack."

"Great," groaned Naruto as he and his clones dashed forward to charge alongside Sasuke.

Sasuke leapt up and swung the massive blade of Zabuza's downward towards Hidan. Hidan merely smirked as he sidestepped and allowed the massive cleaver to smash the ground. Sasuke growled as he pulled the blade up and repositioned himself to perform a wide horizontal swing towards Hidan. Hidan continued to chuckle as he easily managed to maneuver around Sasuke's attack attempts.

"Kid….you don't have the skill nor strength to use that weapon correctly; give it up," sneered Hidan as he dodged one more swing by Sasuke and kicked him in the chest before securing the Kubikiribocho for himself.

"Not exactly what I wanted….but it'll do," smirked Hidan as he turned his attention towards Naruto and his clones.

The three blondes narrowed their eyes and one of them charged forward and managed to duck under the initial swing of Hidan before attempting and upper cut. Hidan leaned back to avoid the attack before immediately ramming the massive cleaver into Naruto's gut causing him to widen his eyes before dispersing in smoke. Hidan turned his attention back to the remaining two before one of them thrust both his hands forward and released out two silver chains that snaked in Hidan's direction.

"Not the sharpest tool in the shed, are you? Now I know which one is real," smirked HIdan as he used the Kubikiribocho to tie up the chains and yank Naruto in his direction causing him to drop Hidan's scythe.

Shikamaru's eyes widened as he turned his attention to the side and noticed Naruto flying directly towards the massive blade. Shikamaru flashed through a series of seals before dashing off to help Naruto.

"Hold him off Shino; I have a plan!"

Shino merely nodded as he readjusted his sunglasses and twirled his Sais before getting into another battle stance.

"Hold me off? Kid….you're a thousand years too early to even think about doing something like that," smirked Kisame.

Hidan readied the killing blow on Naruto but was interrupted as the remaining clone tackled Hidan.

"What? How did you manage to….," trailed off Hidan as he looked downward and saw that Shikamaru's shadow was connected to the clone.

"Detonate now!" Yelled out Shikamaru as he looked over to Naruto who had just collided with the ground.

Hearing those words, Hidan's eyes widened as he quickly struggled to get out of the stupid death grasp that the clone had around him.

"What? You know I can't…," started Naruto before Shikamaru cut him off sharply.

"No dumbass; that was a distraction! Reel in the sword!" Screamed out Shikamaru. "Shino! Toss me your shades and let's clear out!

Naruto quickly retracted back his chains and dragged the Kubikiribocho back over to his side as Shino merely raised his eyebrows at the order before shrugging and tossing his sunglasses over to Shikamaru..

"Clear out? Kid….you're not going anywhere," growled Kisame as he went through a series of handseals.

 **Water Style: Jet Stream Propulsion**

Water suddenly appeared around Kisame's feet and formed into thin tendrils that jetted forward towards Shino at an alarming rate. However, Shino began to glow a crimson very briefly before he became a red streak that blurred across the room and found himself near the room entrance. Shikamaru then threw a kunai which embedded itself into the cryogenic tank before he turned over to Sasuke.

"Captain, ignite the room and let's get the hell out of here!"

Sasuke paused for a moment as if he was in shock to receive orders from someone on his team before Shikamaru groaned in frustration and began screaming.

"Do it or we're all DEAD!"

"You think we'll let you?" Snarled Hidan as hen picked up his scythe and charged towards the four operatives.

"You're not gonna have a choice," smirked Shikamaru as he pointed at a small object rolling around in the center of the room.

A sharp high pitched noise was heard by everyone in the room before their sight was robbed by a blinding white light.

"WHAT THE FUCK?! How do you expect me to aim my technique?" Screamed out Sasuke as he clamped his eyes shut and stopped his hand seal sequence.

"JUST TAKE A FUCKING GUESS!" Screamed out Shikamaru as he went through his own hand seals.

"No more games….I'm going to fucking tear all of you apart for this," howled out Hidan as his hands covered his eyes.

 **Fire Style: Grand Fireball**

Shikamaru took one fleeting glance at the projectile to confirm that it would at least graze his embedded kunai before taking off towards the room entrance and dashed back to the first room in the laboratory. The four operatives took a breather in the room as their vision slowly returned to them and what greeted their sight was Shikamaru donning Shino's sunglasses.

"How did I get here? It felt so weird…like my body somehow knew where to run," began Naruto before he noticed that Shikamaru was pointing at the ground.

Shino, Naruto, and Sasuke both looked down and noticed that Shikamaru's shadow was connected to all three of them.

"You're welcome," smirked Shikamaru. "Naruto, plugged up that hallway we came from with clones."

Naruto was about to protest before he noticed Sasuke's sharp glare directed at him so Naruto quickly complied as he made five replications and sent them to simply cover up the space in the hallway.

"Get back here!" Screamed out Hidan's voice as they heard it echo from down the hall.

"Now let's clear out before the fireworks hit," smirked Shikamaru as he whipped out a seal from his pocket and the character began to light up.

No sooner had he said that, distant explosions were heard near the backroom and they slowly began to get closer which signaled the four operatives to dash out of the lab and make their way back towards town.

"Think they died with the explosion?" Asked Naruto rather hopefully.

"Highly unlikely," murmured Shino.

"What about the experiment?" Asked Sasuke as he dashed down the mountainside alongside his team.

"Yeah….that wasn't going to happen so you'll forgive me for taking the next best option of denying our enemies what they wanted by destroying it. Hopefully just having the research notes will placate Danzo to classifying this as not a total failure," scowled Shikamaru.

Sasuke merely nodded whereas Naruto seemed rather excited about what went down inside the research lab.

"Wow! That was awesome…how you took control and made everything explode! Did you guys see how badass it was?" Cheered Naruto with a rather wide smile.

"No….I did not….I find it hard to see when someone sets off a flashbang right after requesting my sunglasses," murmured Shino as he eyed Shikamaru.

Shikamaru chuckled sheepishly as he took off the shades and tossed them back over to Shino who grumbled a bit before putting them back on.

"That was pretty ballsy…..did you see how close my fireball was to hitting Uzumaki after you told me to approximate?" Scolded Sasuke.

"Of course not…..putting on the shades made me feel cool….and cool guys don't look at explosions," smirked Shikamaru.

* * *

"Well….you were right, Dazno didn't classify it as a total loss. Said we made the right choice by choosing to destroy everything and leaving," explained Sasuke as he exited Danzo's office and regrouped with his team.

"He let us keep that?" Asked Naruto as he pointed at Zabuza's blade which was still strapped to Sasuke's back.

"Yeah…..any of you guys want it?" Asked Sasuke as he removed it and held it out for his teammates.

"You don't want it?" Asked Shino rather curiously.

"Nah…..I mean…I can kind of use it….but it's way too heavy for me," explained Sasuke.

His offer was met with silence so Sasuke merely shrugged as he reattached the blade to his back as he began to walk with his team.

"Hey…sorry about the whole taking order thing, with you being captain and all," murmured Shikamaru after the team had taken a few steps forward.

"No…we needed someone like that at the time….my mind was blanking out and you stepped up. That's good….I didn't really think a chain of command had to be established so quickly with our small team….but I think I can safely count on you to be my second in command," said Sasuke which surprised Shikamaru.

"Me?...You sure?" Asked Shikamaru rather hesitantly.

"Yeah….you definitely have the leadership skills and tactical mind for it….I have full faith in your capabilities," stated Sasuke rather nonchalantly as he crossed his arms.

"When's our next assignment? Did he say?" Inquired Shino as he stuffed his hands into his coat pockets.

"Yeah….we get a few days off for rest to collect ourselves first. But our next assignment is assassination on foreign grounds," revealed Sasuke.

"Assassination? Want to see if we can recruit Sakura to our team? She managed to do some of the standard assassinations pretty well a few months ago," suggested Naruto.

"No….her idea of assassination is walking up and introducing herself to someone before making their heads explode with those sound abilities of hers and then running for the hills," stated Sasuke with a rather unimpressed tone.

"Hey, gets the job done," shrugged Naruto.

"This one needs to be very discreet….we're waltzing into foreign territory and this time we'll have proper fake identification. We're supposed to pose as traveling merchants at an event and I am to assume this kill is meant to be discreet….and near untraceable," explained Sasuke.

"Covert killing? Shouldn't be too hard with the right person," drawled Shikamaru.

"You got someone in mind?" Asked Sasuke.

"Well…when you want someone killed discreetly and without a trace…..there's nobody better to ask than Hyuga Hinata…."

* * *

 _Chronicles of Thirteen_

 _Anything worth noting won't be hidden forever….that's just the way the world works. History might be written by the victor…but the truth will always find its way to those with wandering curiosity. After all….not all who wander are lost._

 _Aburame Shino_

* * *

 **TBC**

 **Whew….that took super long…I actually wrote the first half or so of this chapter like early December but then I stopped to take a breather to study for my finals. After finals were over, I was caught up in the holiday frenzy and found myself with little time to myself. I honesty probably could've finished this earlier….but I also bought fallout 4 and I've wasted away many hours on that game…so no excuses this time….except for the beginning where I was legitimately busy. Shoot me a review and let me know how I'm doing!**


	7. Pair of Queens

**Hey guys! Sorry for the delay….for no good reason other than the fact that I let time slip away due to my laziness. So, I've been beating myself up over it since I know the next chapter of TJ, TB, ATDOW has been long overdue since I promised it would come out soon. I really do have a little less than about half the chapter saved, but I swear that it'll come out after this chapter! No exceptions of excuses! A small part of why this chapter took so long is because of the method I use to get inspiration to write for** _ **Thirteen.**_ **I have a general plot idea somewhat constructed, but to connect the different events, I usually let where I left off kind just sit in my head and see if my imagination kicks off and sort of writes for me. It took a LOT longer for this one to come around, but even after it did, I got really lazy about it haha! Enough of that, here we go!**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing**

"Speaking"

 _Thinking_

 **Chapter 7:** Pair of Queens

* * *

 _Chronicles of Thirteen_

 _If you have the motivation, I don't think anything in the world is impossible. First, you have to start moving. If you move, something will begin._

 _Hyuuga Hinata_

* * *

"So, Danzo is really okay with you just adding anyone on the team whenever you want?" Asked Shino as he walked alongside Naruto, Shikamaru, and Sasuke.

"Well…he did say the team was handpicked by me and nobody else….I would assume so," shrugged Sasuke as they strolled through the halls of the academy.

"What makes Hinata so talented for this exactly?" Questioned Naruto with a rather puzzled look.

"She has a talent I think will prove most useful in discrete assassination," responded Sasuke rather cryptically as they approached the front of the gate of the academy.

"…..Where are we going?" asked Shikamaru.

"Hinata doesn't use the training area to hone her skills….she trains by a river just a short distance from here," explained Sasuke as they exited the academy.

"Hmmm…how peculiar, is there something special about the river?" Inquired Shino.

"No, I think she just prefers the seclusion," surmised Sasuke.

"You know this because….?" Trailed off Shikamaru with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm a stalker," responded Sasuke sarcastically as he rolled his eyes.

"I know the sarcasm was present….but I have no other conclusion to reach then that one, given the information you have provided," murmured Shino as he adjusted his sunglasses.

Sasuke rolled his eyes before he gestured for the other three to follow him as he turned off the main road and walked down a narrow path alongside some shrubs. After a few moments of walking in silence, the distance sound of running water began present to their ears. The sound became louder and clearer as the group cleared outside of the woods and reached a rather large riverbank with Hinata sitting cross-legged by the edge. The four stood still for a moment before Naruto took a step forward and was about to call out Hinata's name before Sasuke lightly struck Naruto over the forehead with his index and middle finger.

"Ow, what was that for?" grumbled Naruto as he lightly rubbed the spot that Sasuke had struck.

"You wanted to see what made Hinata so well-suited for this mission," responded Sasuke as he simply pointed at Hinata without making a sound.

Hinata slowly stood up from her sitting position and activated her Byakugan before turning and delivering a palm strike to a trunk of a nearby medium-sized tree. The force of the attack caused the tree to shake off a rather large amount of leaves that slowly began drifting towards the ground. Hinata then jumped up and began swing both her arms rather gracefully and delivering swift strikes to each falling leaf before they managed to touch the floor. As Hinata landed on the ground, she deliver a swift horizontal chop with her hand across the tree trunk and held her stance for a moment almost as if she were waiting for something.

"What's she…," began Naruto before being shushed by Sasuke.

The top half of the tree slowly began to tip over displaying the fact that it was cut cleanly in half. Hinata then flipped back and landed on top of the water before moving her body in a form of a seemingly traditional dance. Tendrils of water slowly formed around Hinata and then darted outward and began to rapidly tear through the falling upper half of the tree causing even more of the leaves to be blasted off the branches. Hinata then jumped up once more and began her previous practice of swinging at each swaying leaf before landed back onto the water and exhaling as she deactivated her Byakugan.

"What….was that protruding from her hand?" Asked Shikamaru rather curiously.

"Truly remarkable," commented Shino.

"I've never asked, but it is quite the feat," agreed Sasuke.

"That…was….AMAZING! HINATA, YOU ARE SO COOL!" Screamed out Naruto which shocked Hinata as she finally took notice of her audience causing her to panic and shriek as she lost control of her Chakra and began wildly swinging her arms before plummeting into the river.

* * *

"AH-CHOO!" Sneezed Hinata as she wrapped a towel around her head in an attempt to dry her hair.

"Sorry for our idiot teammate who startled you," muttered Sasuke as he glared at Naruto who could only grin sheepishly.

"Sorry about that….but what you did…it was just so cool! It was hard to contain my excitement," chuckled Naruto.

"T-t-thank you…..b-but w-what're you f-four doing h-h-here?" Stuttered Hinata as her cheeks turned a light tinge of pink from the praise.

"We actually came here looking for you, I have a proposition for you," explained Sasuke. "But why don't you get cleaned up first so you don't get sick."

"I-I-I actually h-have a s-s-spare change of c-c-clothes, if y-y-you four wouldn't m-mind," murmured Hinata as she made a small gesture for the four to walk away and turn their attention from her.

The four got the messaged before each nodding and strolling away from Hinata as rustling was heard while she dried herself off and changed into a dry set of clothes.

"Why do you have a spare change of clothes out here anyway?" Asked Naruto as Hinata finally gave them the okay that she was presentable again.

"I-I-I try and p-plant m-m-more trees out h-h-here after I f-finish my t-training," explained Hinata. "I f-f-feel b-bad for c-constantly d-d-destroying nature. My clothes g-g-get d-dirty f-from kneeling in d-d-dirt."

"Woah…..how'd you….manage this while unarmed?" Asked Naruto as he looked at the clean cut through the tree trunk that Hinata made earlier.

"W-well…I'm n-n-never really e-e-ever u-unarmed," stated Hinata as she lifted up her middle and index finger and the tip began to glow white before forming what could only be described as a tiny blade of a dagger made of pure white.

"Remarkable…..what exactly is that?" Asked Shino.

"I'm n-not sure….I f-f-found this o-old s-s-scroll at h-home w-when I w-w-was young and it d-described this o-o-old fighting s-style m-my p-p-people o-once used," murmured Hinata.

"What exactly….is it?" Questioned Shikamaru.

"It appears that utilizing very fine-tuned control, she concentrates her Chakra into a singular point and gently forms the shape while condensing it so that it is as hard as diamond," explained Sasuke as he looked at Hinata's technique with his Sharingan active.

The other three looked to Hinata who slowly nodded in confirmation as she exhaled and relaxed her posture before releasing her technique.

"So, can everyone in your clan do this?" Asked Naruto.

"N-no….t-t-these days, m-m-my p-p-people primarily u-use the G-gentle f-f-fist style….t-t-this s-style is a b-bit o-o-outdated," explained Hinata.

"But why? It seems to have so many applications," pointed out Naruto.

"Most likely natural selection at its finest," explained Shikamaru. "The Hyuuga were used as a defensive buffer zone for Fire Country in battles that were fought many years ago due to strategic geographical placement. This meant that rigid defensive techniques and styles were prioritized which probably spearheaded many developments and growth of fighters that predominantly relied on Earth based techniques and styles. This is exactly how the Gentle Fist was developed in the first place; the nature of this lost style seems predicated on gentle and very fluid control and movements which would make me guess that you have an affinity for water."

"Y-yeah, t-t-this o-old s-s-style is a-actually b-b-based on an o-o-old Eastern s-style c-c-called the Fujian W-white Crane," revealed Hinata. "T-t-the Gentle F-f-fist is a-actually d-d-derived from the E-e-empty F-Fist."

"I'm starting to see why you suggested her in the first place," noted Shino as he lightly nodded in Shikamaru's direction.

"S-s-s-suggest me? W-what i-is going o-on?" Asked Hinata with a rather bewildered look.

"We have an upcoming assignment….and we could use someone with your skillset," explained Sasuke as he lifted his arm and began digging through his Leafpoint device.

* * *

"….and that's the gist of it so far…..obviously there will be more details if you choose to accept this," explained Sasuke as he closed the program on his device and looked towards Hinata for her answer.

"…..W-why me? T-t-this team y-you h-have seems so s-skilled and h-have t-t-to undertake s-s-such difficult covert m-missions. I'm n-not s-s-sure if I'm u-up to the t-task," murmured Hinata as she casted her gaze towards the ground.

"To be honest, you were one of the individuals I was going to ask regardless in the near future….it just so happens that a mission has come up where your abilities will prove most useful so I chose to expedite my invitation to you," revealed Sasuke.

"….What could y-you n-need me to d-do that n-nobody else c-can?" Asked Hinata with a rather puzzled look.

"I need you…..to end someone else's life," stated Sasuke as he crossed his arms

* * *

"Hmmmmmm, interesting choice….but I could see this potentially working out," noted Danzo as he scratched his chin and looked over Hinata's files.

"I-I-I s-still….d-don't understand w-what exactly is b-being a-a-asked of me," stuttered Hinata as she focused on the ground in front of her.

"You will be assigned to seek out and assassinate an individual whose managed to sneak under the radar….he's a defector who seemingly vanished several years ago and we've now just barely caught wind that he's trying to re-enter society," explained Danzo.

"Why's it so important that he be killed?" Questioned Sasuke.

"This is a special case, he has stolen something of value and I do not want this to come to the attention of anyone else which is why I'm asking for this to be done discreetly," explained Danzo.

"Who is this guy?" Inquired Shino.

"His name is Rokusho Aoi….was a standard run-of-the-mill operative who tried to get inducted into our Special Task Force three times. He failed the initiation test every time and shortly before the Third Great War began heating up, he stole some valuable artifacts and seemed to vanish. His skills were nothing impressive bar his stealth and covert abilities…..you will not get another chance at this. If he catches wind of what is going on he will most likely high tail it and vanish again," warned Danzo.

"So our only objective is to kill him? Asked Sasuke.

"No, outside of eliminating him, I want you to also recover one of the artifacts he stole. If you can get the other one that would be splendid, but just one will suffice," revealed Danzo.

"What exactly did he take?" Asked Naruto.

"He took an ancient staff known as the Ruyi Jingu Bang and a treasured blade known as the Rajin no Ken. The blade itself is not quite as important, but the staff is key to a scroll that is locked away in this academy that contains sensitive information regarding forbidden techniques developed in our nation. While I don't think Aoi knows of this, I'd rather NOT have such an important item floating around in the wild," explained Danzo.

"You mentioned that this time around you have everything arranged for us?" Inquired Sasuke as he crossed his arms?

"Yes…..you will all be attending a charity event in Water Country that is utilizing Mist to act as additional security so be mindful of how you act. When you have finalized the squad to me Sasuke, I will have proper fake identification and passports ready for you before you head out," revealed Danzo.

"So, the way we approach this mission will be entirely up to us?" Asked Shikamaru.

"Technically yes, but I do advise remaining discreet…..and if something goes wrong and your identities are outed….there is little lee-way for me to bail you out. I suggest somehow getting Aoi's attention and then eliminating him somewhere isolated," advised Danzo.

"Any ideas?" Asked Sasuke as he raised his eyebrow at Danzo.

"Aoi has always been a bit of a greedy and had a small lecherous streak going on for a bit….perhaps you could use the Hyuuga to seduce before eliminating him?" Suggested Danzo.

"S-s-seduce? I d-don't think I a-am c-c-capable of performing s-s-such a-acts," squeaked Hinata with a rather mortified expression.

"Just a suggestion," shrugged Danzo. "You guys are clever, you can probably think of other ways."

* * *

"S-s-so….I w-won't REALLY h-h-have to….y-you know," trailed off Hinata as a light blush appeared over her face.

"Well, if you think it's outside of your skillset there's really no point in giving it a shot when we only get one chance at this," shrugged Shikamaru.

"You're on board with us then?" Asked Sasuke.

"I-I-I guess s-so…..it s-sounds p-p-pretty important," stuttered Hinata as she walked alongside the other four through the quad.

"Well, we still need to figure out a clean and discreet way to eliminate the target," reminded Shino as he stuffed his hands into the pockets of his coat.

Shikamaru stood still for a moment as he stared at the ground while scratching his chin trying to come up with a viable idea to get this to work. The identities given to them would most likely just be some fabricated important or rich character which would gain them entry and most likely nothing else. If Hinata didn't feel confident enough to be able to sway Aoi's attention, then it would be a lost cause. If Aoi is as trained as Danzo implied, it would be fairly likely that Sasuke and Naruto wouldn't be quite up to the task of a quick assassination…..Shino was a viable possibility but there wasn't really a viable way to gauge whether or not Aoi would recognize Shino's insect army. Aoi would most likely be a bit paranoid and on guard if he was actually freshly coming out of hiding. This would mean that creating a situation in which he was comfortable would be key to this mission's success.

"There's still the matter of securing the Ruyi Jingu Bang and possibly the Raijin no Ken," reminded Shikamaru as he continued to try and formulate the plan.

"You don't think he would just have it on him?" Questioned Naruto.

"It's a public charity event with a third party running security…..it's somewhat likely that weapons will be confiscated prior to entry," explained Shikamaru.

"You think he's going to let something as valuable as the Ruyi Jingu Bang out of his sight?" Asked Shino with a bit of surprise in his tone.

"…..What exactly makes it so valuable? Isn't it just an old staff?" Asked Naruto with a rather puzzled look.

"If you had ever paid attention in history," mused Shino as Naruto merely crossed his arms and pouted. "The legend goes that a monkey was born from within a magical stone that rested upon a great mountain many centuries ago. It is said that he learned the human way of life and martial arts through scrolls of the ancient religion of Taoism. From his self-teachings, he names himself Sun Wukong and quickly established himself as the greatest fighter in his province and sought out a weapon that was worthy of skill and he defeated the Dragon ruler of the Eastern seas to acquire the Ruyi Jingu Bang. The staff was known as the dividing rod of the oceans and with it as his weapon, he offered the challenge and declared he had no equal in this world. His conflict caught the attention of the Heavens who tried to fool him into be inducted so that he would cause no trouble as a lowly worker. When he discovered this disrespect, he rebelled against the kingdom of the gods and declared himself the Great Sage, Equal of Heaven."

"Oh right right….I'm starting to remember now, his battle ended with his imprisonment before he went on a journey of redemption, right?" Asked Naruto.

"Yes….and that tale of his travels is what we call the Journey of the West," finished Shino.

"Dang….so that artifact….is the one in the same as the one in the legend?" Asked Naruto in awe.

"Obviously as a legend it is probably a bit exaggerated, but supposedly yes, that is the same staff," nodded Shikamaru.

"Man…that story is so cool…what a strange name for a character though," murmured Naruto as he scratched his chin.

"It roughly translates to awaken to emptiness and that story is actually the starting point of where a lot of ancient fighting styles stemmed from," explained Shikamaru.

"Story time aside….we still need to think of some sort of plan with this upcoming mission we are tasked with," reminded Sasuke. "You heard Danzo talk about the risks; if this backfires, it's on us to make the best of it as he will only be able to provide limited help."

"T-this does s-s-seem to b-be r-rather difficult w-w-with just t-the f-five of us," murmured Hinata.

"It's a shame you don't quite feel qualified to do it alone, Hinata," muttered Sasuke. "Your talents make you almost ideal for this."

"S-sorry….i-i-interacting w-with s-someone like t-that a-alone s-s-sounds n-nerve w-w-wrecking," spoke Hinata rather softly as she looked at the ground.

The five of them stood around in silence as they each pondered over the problem that sat before them at hand. After a few moments, Shikamaru's face lit up which caught the attention of everyone else.

"You have an idea?" Inquired Sasuke.

"Yeah…..how do you feel about expediting the addition of our sixth member," smirked Shikamaru.

* * *

"Let me get this straight…you want me to be part of a secret black ops division…..infiltrate a party with you guys in a far off country…..work with Hinata to con some individual who stole from us….and then kill him after stealing his stuff?" Recounted Ino.

"That's the plan," smirked Shikamaru.

Ino's gaze seemed to tip upward as she thought over the proposition before she merely just shrugged, "Yeah, I can do that."

"…Just like that?" Asked Shino who was a bit taken back at the rather quick response.

"A job's a job," shrugged Ino. "Plus, sounds like I would be pretty good for this one."

"That's a good enough reason for us," chuckled Naruto as Hinata merely offered a meek smile.

"I'm going to guess I have to take the lead when it's just Hinata and I?" Surmised Ino as she looked over Hinata.

"Y-yeah, o-o-once w-we g-g-get him i-isolated, i-i-it should b-b-be simple," whispered Hinata.

"If the objectives aren't with him, the four of us will work on securing them and then we will try and secure a safe way out or bail you out if the deed gets too noisy and draws unwanted attention," explained Sasuke.

"You can let Danzo know we're ready to go at this point, I think we still have two days before we begin our trek this time. I'm going to go take a nap," yawned Shikamaru as he walked off.

* * *

"Ueda Nataro…..a travelling merchant….bah, how boring," frowned Naruto as he looked over his false identification.

"Better than being your bodyguard," muttered Shikamaru as he looked at the top of his identification which was labeled as Nii Satoru.

"I am quite okay with this description of Asagi Sheen, the painter," murmured Shino.

"Heiress, Harada Hiroka….s-s-she s-sounds like a n-n-nice p-person," stammered Hinata.

"Yamazaki Ikumi the photographer….I can work with this," smiled Ino.

"Who cares who you're posing as? Just memorize the key information and make up the rest and be prepared to introduce yourself," scolded Sasuke as he put his papers away and began walking down the road.

"Pfft, you only get to say that because you're heir to a large electric power company, Mister Ueno Satoshi," pouted Naruto.

"Just shut up….we have a long travel ahead of us," growled Sasuke as he gestured for everyone to follow him.

Ino strolled forward in silence alongside everyone else as they followed Sasuke down the path towards their destination. After a few moments, Ino grew bored of the silence and started whistling a small jingle out of desire to just fill the void of quietness. She gazed around at her teammates and noticed that Shikamaru was looking through his Leafpoint and reading something. Hinata zipped her jack up all the way and seemed to be trying to shrink into while Shino merely continued to walk forward with his hands in his pockets. Naruto seemed to be listening to some music as headphones were over his ears and he was humming some sort of tune to himself while snapping occasionally and Sasuke was taking the lead while slowly rotating a bead necklace he had in his hand.

"So…..," started Ino as she stopped whistling. "Is Sasuke the de-facto leader?"

"Yes, Danzo hands us the assignments but Sasuke is the one that assembled the team and calls the shots out in the field," confirmed Shino. "Though he has stated that in his absence or anything that causes inhibition of his ability to lead properly, the responsibility then falls to Shikamaru."

"I see….how long have you guys been operating?" Asked Ino.

"We had one mission before this one….the ones present were me, Shino, Naruto, and Sasuke," responded Shikamaru without taking his eyes off his Leafpoint.

"Ah…..how did that go?" Pried Ino.

"We had…..qualifying levels of success," responded Shikamaru.

Silence fell again as the group continued to travel and the sun reached directly over their heads to signify the passing of noon. The group continued to walk in silence outside of the occasional whistle of Ino and the random singing of Naruto as he continued to listen to music. Night was rapidly approaching as the group finally arrived at a nearby town and Sasuke signaled for everyone to stop.

"Alright, we're gonna rest up here at the hotel just in front of us. We'll get….," Sasuke trailed off as he noticed that Naruto was still slowly walking forward with his headphones and generally just not paying attention to his surroundings.

"In time, your heart will open minds; a story will be told and victory is in – OW!" Yelled out Naruto as he flinched from Sasuke striking him across the head and knocking his headphones down to around his neck.

"What was that for?!" Growled Naruto as he rubbed the spot on his forehead that Sasuke had struck.

"You can rock out later dumbass, for now, listen!" Snapped Sasuke causing a rather sheepish grin to appear on Naruto's face.

"Hehe….gotcha," grinned Naruto.

"Now, as I was saying. We're gonna stop at this hotel for the night before heading out tomorrow morning. This is a local town so don't worry too much about incognito. Gather what supplies you think you might need tonight on your own time as well as dinner. We're going to get three rooms, Uzumaki and I will be one, Aburame and Nara will be the other, and the last room will be for Hyuuga and Yamanaka. The hotel serves complimentary breakfast starting at 7:00AM. We'll meat downstairs for the meal before heading off again, got it?" Instructed Sasuke.

Everyone nodded and saluted before they all entered the lobby of the hotel. They all stood around for a few moments before Sasuke returned and handed each of them a key to their rooms.

"You guys are now free to do what you want for the evening," instructed Sasuke as everyone nodded and proceeded to exit the building in pairs based on their respective rooms

* * *

"So….you think it's going to be a lot cleaner this time?" Asked Shino as he took a sip from his water while waiting for the meal to be delivered.

"Yeah….should be okay this time….there's no way something like this catches the attention of higher-ups," stated Shikamaru.

"You don't think the Ruyi Jingu Bang just floating around will catch the attention of some people?" Inquired Shino.

"Eh…it's been missing for a while so I don't think so. That aside, most people will probably just pass it off as a legend with little to no uses," shrugged Shikamaru.

"I suppose that's true. This Aoi individual was in possession of it for a while and Danzo speaks as if Aoi has no understanding of its true nature," agreed Shino.

"The stakes are higher this time though," noted Shikamaru as their food arrived before them.

"What do you mean?" Questioned Shino as he speared some meat onto his fork.

"The way Danzo speaks….I don't think the whole ordeal with Aoi was documented very well….think about how everything will look if we get caught; several individuals on foreign grounds with fake identification attempting an assassination at a somewhat prestigious charity event," chuckled Shikamaru as he took a bite of his food.

"Hmm….I suppose that's true," agreed Shino as he took a sip from his water.

"Yeah…there's a lot of hurdles for us to cross…..we should probably obtain floor plans somehow or do some initial recon…..we need to locate the target as well as the artifacts before we jump the gun and try anything," murmured Shikamaru as he continued to eat.

* * *

"Man…how do you think this mission will go?" Asked Naruto as he browsed the wares with Sasuke.

"With me in charge? Probably flawlessly," chuckled Sasuke as he reached over for a set of weights.

"Hah, very funny. What're you need those for?" Asked Naruto as he watched Sasuke load in his ankle weights.

"Obviously I'm going to drop them on Aoi's head to assassinate him," responded Sasuke sarcastically as he rolled his eyes.

Naruto stood in silence as he walked up and down the aisle with Sasuke while Sassuke continued to gaze across the shelves to look for something he might need.

"So….it's almost time again," started Naruto as he looked at Sasuke with a rather apprehensive look.

"Yeah….we'll see if we're close when it comes around," answered Sasuke absent-mindedly.

* * *

"I've always wondered something, Hinata," began Ino as she sat atop her bed in her pajamas.

"What is it?" Murmured Hinata who was feeling more comfortable being around less people.

"How come….some Hyuga spell their surname with only one u while you and Neji have two?" Asked Ino.

"…..It was their act….to separate from us," whispered Hinata as she lay down in her bed.

"….Separate?" Questioned Ino with a rather quizzed look.

"You….you know how we have a main family….and a branch family?"

Ino slowly nodded at this as it was relatively common knowledge that the Hyuuga family was a bit archaic in their traditions.

"Our traditions….we created a division in the family so that the branch family would exist for the purpose of protecting the main family."

"That…that sounds a bit…..a bit messed up," murmured Ino as she struggled to find more appropriate words.

"Yeah….the branch family….they weren't thrilled either….so we….we, the main family….colluded with some others and came up with a method to imprint a seal on the branch family….so we could…..make it easier to coerce them to protecting us against their will. We could activate the seal…..and it would cause an internal deconstruction of their body," uttered Hinata who seemed to become more downtrodden with each word.

"That's…..that's terrible," gasped Ino.

"Yeah….the way the seal looks….the branch family added an extra u to their surname…as their final act of defiance to our disgusting traditions," muttered Hinata who now had a disgusted look on her face.

"I see….but….you spell your surname with two u's too don't you? Aren't you the heiress to the main family?"

"I….I took up the name to show the entire clan…that I stand with the branch family on this matter."

Ino was silent for a moment as she slowly laid down on her bed and took in all the information that Hinata had revealed to her. After a few moments of silence, a rather quiet sob came from Hinata whose eyes began to water.

"I want to change everything….I want to reunite my people once more…but the main family now show their disgust of my familial standing…..and the branch family don't trust me because I am the heiress to the main family."

Ino opened her mouth hoping to comfort Hinata a bit but found that she had no idea what to say at all….she sat still for a moment before she watched Hinata reach over and turn the light off on their shared nightstand.

* * *

 _Chronicles of Thirteen_

 _I can't tell you to trust me simply because I'm nice. I can't save everyone I meet….but if I don't reach out my hand while I can, the regret would make me wish I were dead. I reach out to others because I don't want to always be thinking about what more I could have done._

 _Yamanaka Ino_

* * *

 **TBC**

 **Woooo! My abridged version of Journey to the West! Haha, it was and still is one of my favorite tales ever since I was a child.**

 **Man….that was a long time in between and honestly not a very long chapter. I can only offer my apologies for my laziness but I will partially deflect blame towards the fact that school has kept me busy (I'm a double major!) and just real life stuff in general has kept me unable to write. But I can't blame it all on it as I somehow still find time to play video games or read books every now and then. The chapter for TJ, TB, ATDOW is so long overdue…I swear I'll update that one next. Shoot me a review to let me know how I'm doing!**


	8. Poker Face

**Hey everyone! I started writing this chapter somewhat early, but then I got a really strange idea to tie into this story and I wanted to give it a shot. I'm not really sure how to describe it but I got the idea for a huge world backstory that's a bit….supernatural? Even for a story about ninja's with elemental bending powers haha. It won't be ridiculously absurd but it definitely will put a different turn to the story. Without giving it away, essentially I'm writing an origin to the creation of the world and the early civilizations that has almost nothing to do with the Naruto canon. I'll try and weave it in as smoothly as possible, the bulk of it won't actually be brought in till a few chapters later but I figured I wanted to give everyone a heads up. I actually got this idea while playing a lot of other games. Enough of that, on with the story!**

 **Also, if you haven't figured it out by now, all the little messages at the beginning and at the end of each chapter from like chapter 5 and onward are not fully made up. Some of them will be, most of them will be slightly alterations from other games or books/shows, see if you can identify them! I decided to add them since I thought it would be a fun way to add small insight to each character.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing of Naruto nor any of the small nods or quotes I steal from other games/books!**

"Speaking"

 _Thinking_

 _Messaging_

 **Chapter 8:** Poker Face

* * *

 _Chronicles of Thirteen_

 _Whenever there is a meeting, a parting is sure to follow. However, that parting need not last forever…whether a parting be forever or merely for a short time….that is up to you_

 _Uzumaki Naruto_

* * *

"How much longer?" Groaned Naruto as he leaned back into the leather seats and watched the outside scene pass him by.

"This train will arrive at the next destination by nightfall where we'll stay at the hotel. From there, a few hours of travel in the early morning and we'll arrive at our final destination," replied Sasuke as he kept his arms crossed.

"This is so….BORING!" Complained Naruto as he threw his hands up before his eyes widened and he found himself lifted a few inches off the seat and into the air.

"Stop fidgeting…and SHUT UP! I'm TRYING to nap," snapped Ino as she glared at Naruto with one outstretched hand that was surrounded by a light blue aura similar to the one that enshrouded Naruto.

"I…I have s-some e-earplugs if y-you w-want," murmured Hinata as she dug through her pouch.

"It's fine Hinata….as long as this blonde idiot SHUTS UP!" Glowered Ino.

"Shikamaru seems to have no trouble sleeping," noted Shino as he pointed at the aforementioned individual who was lying down on a nearby couch and lightly snoring.

"That lazy idiot can sleep anywhere," growled Ino as she dropped Naruto back in his seat.

"Stop causing a scene, we're deep in foreign territory now….let's not blow our cover," instructed Sasuke. "When we get off this train, we will use our given personas, so make sure it's memorized!"

Everyone gave Sasuke a nod except for Naruto who mumbled a "yeah, yeah" before sliding off his chair and slouching on the ground as he tried to somehow keep himself entertained for the remainder of the trip.

* * *

Hiruzen sighed as he looked over some recent files that had hit his desk before tossing them onto the growing pile of stray papers. He groaned in frustration at the lack of progress over the year before his secretary chimed in from the intercom.

"Sir, a member of STF is here to see you."

"Send him in," sighed Hiruzen as he cleared some space on his desk before reaching for his pipe.

"What've you got for me?" Asked Hiruzen as the masked individual stood before him.

"Not much we don't already know…..nothing other than clothing that would suggest a link between Kisame, Deidara, and Hidan," replied the masked individual.

"I figured as much," sighed Hiruzen. "Are we any closer to identifying the bigger picture?"

"Small amounts of progress is being made….that day I reported to you right after the cadets' graduation exam….we've confirmed that Deidara wasn't there for any particular reason relating to the town. They may have instigated the takeover…..but the recovered logs on the computer show no external extraction of data nor any checking of the folders…they were just deleted," explained the individual.

"So…a red herring," murmured Hiruzen.

"Yes, we've come to the conclusion that they…..they were testing something….but we don't know what their end game is."

"….Testing? How did you arrive to that conclusion?"

"I had my suspicions when I reported to you a year ago about a possible problem that was at hand. Before I could arrive to assist the cadets in dealing with Deidara, I managed to hear Deidara mention that his work was done which implied that he was not sent to actually eliminate resistance of any sort. However, he must have known that jamming communications would entice us to check the tower which means he was undoubtedly expecting us. Despite that, he was not eager at all to partake in any combat with even me."

"…..Implying that he had an alternative motive for causing everyone to congregate at the roof of the tower," murmured Hiruzen as he rubbed his chin.

"Yes….that and the fact he was very adamant about not keeping those weird dark-skinned individuals intact to allow us for autopsy contributes to the enigma."

Hiruzen was silent for a moment as he let all the information swirl together in his head before he sighed and put down his pipe.

"It's still not much to go on….but I guess this has been a wild goose chase from the start. Good work, you're dismissed," waved Hiruzen.

The STF member bowed lightly before turning around and exiting the office and back into the lobby of the top floor. He was about to return to his own quarters before the device on his arm made a small blipping sound to signify a message had been sent to him.

 _Did you report everything I told you to?_

 _-D_

He furrowed his eyebrows a bit as he read the rather short message his superior had sent him before typing out his response.

 _Yes….but why am I omitting some of the information?_

He turned his attention away from his device and continued walking before pondering his current situation. It was always so strange to be a member of such a group that embodied the idea of darkness and shadows. Young individuals that partook in training always seemed to idolize the idea of the STF while adults always seemed so distrustful of them despite knowing that they worked to protect the peace. He was shaken out of his thoughts as the blipping sound became prevalent again

 _It is not fully confirmed nor important for now…..there are other matters at hand and I wish to keep that small bit hidden for now…..are you ready for your next solo assignment?_

 _-D_

This one was going to be a rather strange assignment as he had already been partially briefed about it before he went on his last scouting solo mission. However, he wasn't really sure what he could possibly be gained from this nor where he would find his opening.

 _I'm ready….but I don't see how I'm supposed to approach this particular mission_

He began training for espionage at a young age….people skills were definitely not his forte.

 _I don't think you'll have to worry about that….I daresay your chance to join up with Uchiha Sasuke and his friends will present itself to you…..just be ready…..Sai_

Now there was a name he hadn't been called in a while.

* * *

"We're all memorized and good to go?" Asked Sasuke as he turned to look at his team before stepping off of the train.

Sasuke was met with a series of nods and murmurs of agreement amongst his team before he gestured their attention towards the center of town where the local hotel happened to be situated. Sasuke looked around a bit to see if anyone was close enough to eavesdrop as his team all congregated around the front entrance.

"Alright….we now refer to each other by our personas….the rooms this time will be myself and Aburame, Nara and Uzumaki, and the girls together," murmured Sasuke as he dropped his voice down to a hushed whisper.

They all gave Sasuke a nod and a salute before Sasuke strolled over to the front desk to secure their rooms for the evening. Within moments, he returned to his team and handed each of them a card to their designated area.

"Alright, the evening is yours for now….secure supplies or food if you deem it necessary and make sure to get ample rest. We have a few hours of travel in the morning before we can settle in…..and make sure to keep a low profile; we're on foreign ground," instructed Sasuke to which everyone nodded.

* * *

Hinata took a sip of her bubble tea as she watched the sun dip lower and lower off in the horizon. Her thoughts traveled onto the mission they were presented with as well as the job that she specifically had placed in front of her. Hinata was no stranger to killing in this line of work, but performing such actions had always made her feel uncomfortable as she slowly took in what exactly she was doing. A rustling from behind her caught Hinata's attention as she turned her head and noticed Sasuke walking up towards her and sitting down at the bench next to her.

"Good evening…..Ueno Satoshi," greeted Hinata with a small smile.

"Hello to you to…..Harada Hiroka," smirked Sasuke.

The two sat in silence as Hinata simply continued to take small sips of her drink while a lazy stare was displayed across Sasuke's face as he remained nearly motionless while continuing to stare off into the distance. After a few moments, Hinata decided to break the silence as it was slowly beginning to unnerve her.

"Was….there something you wanted?" Inquired Hinata.

"Nothing in particular…..just felt like taking this seat," responded Sasuke.

Hinata opened her mouth for a bit before closing it; realizing that she didn't really have anything to say back to that. They continued to sit in silence before the uncomfortable silence finally got to Hinata again and she felt compelled to strike up small talk.

"…..Do you think that this mission….will be difficult?"

"I doubt any of these missions we will receive will be absurdly hard nor exceedingly easy."

Once again, Hinata felt a little frustrated as Sasuke had effectively killed the conversation in one sentence. It was slightly impressive how difficult it seemed to speak to Sasuke on any sort of conversational level.

"You know…I'm still a bit surprised you agreed to come along for this mission," murmured Sasuke as he leaned forward and placed his elbow on his knees.

"You…..you don't think I'm capable?" Asked Hinata rather dejectedly.

"No…not that, you've always just seemed very….adverse to anything that results in death," muttered Sasuke.

"I'm no stranger to death in this line of work," muttered Hinata as she felt just a tad bit insulted at Sasuke's sentiment.

"I'm aware…..we've just had trouble agreeing on certain things…in the past," mused Sasuke as he recalled leading a squad in the past that Hinata took part in.

 _Flashback_

" _Hyuuga, what's the situation?" Yelled Sasuke into his Leafpoint as he ducked under a sword swing from a mercenary he was stuck in combat with._

" _He's remotely uploading the commands from his location….I can't stop it from here!" Replied Hinata frantically._

" _Ugh…..can you estimate how much time we have left?" Asked Sasuke as he kicked a sword out of another individual's hand._

"… _.Uh…maybe around another twenty minutes?!"_

" _Ugh….we need to stop this now….just run to the main panel and overload the power core; a total power outage should stop him in his tracks," ordered Sasuke as he slit the throat of an incoming enemy._

 _Sasuke quickly ducked a horizontal sword swing from his left before sweeping back and knocking the assailant off his feet. He then rammed the knife into the downed opponent before tossing his other arm back and elbowing an enemy behind him._

"… _.Hyuuga? Did you hear me?!" Shouted out Sasuke._

" _If….if I do that…the life support on the machines in this building will shut off!" Responded Hinata rather loudly._

" _Well…if you have a far better solution to this growing enigma…I'm all ears!" Scowled Sasuke as he tossed another adversary over his shoulder._

" _I can try and locate him with my Byakugan…he can't be THAT far away from the center of town!" Exclaimed Hinata._

" _Do you even have an inkling of an idea of where he might be hiding?!" Asked Sasuke rather incredulously as he lifted his knife to intercept a swing aimed at his neck._

" _Well no…but,"_

" _BUT NOTHING….I'm NOT going to put even MORE people at risk for a 'maybe,'" growled Sasuke. "Just do as I say and set the power core to overload."_

 _Sasuke continued to do the combat tango with surrounding individuals as he waited for Hinata to confirm his order or at least to speak back to him in any manner. After a few moments, the silence began to worry him as thoughts of Hinata possibly being ambushed at her location began filling his head._

" _Hyuuga!...Are you there?!" Called out Sasuke._

 _After a few moments, Hinata's typical timid voice was now quite different than what Sasuke had grown accustomed to._

" _No….you want to do that…you get over here yourself and do it," replied Hinata as her voice seemed to now be filled with conviction._

 _End Flashback_

"….I technically got the job done," replied Hinata with an uncharacteristic cheeky grin.

"Yeah….but that risk was a bit unnecessary…don't you think?" Questioned Sasuke with a raised brow.

Hinata was silent for a moment as she tried to gather her words in hope that she could perhaps at least persuade Sasuke to somehow see everything from her point of view.

"What is the value of a human life?" Asked Hinata.

"Ah…the question of the hour," chuckled Sasuke as he evaded the question.

"Individuals all have hopes…dreams….aspirations…wishes…and a plethora of other things that we as autonomous beings value. When we claim the title as the ender of another's life….we have effectively halted all those things we hold in such high regard," murmured Hinata.

"Just because we have dreams and aspirations….does not mean they are all goals meant to be pursued," countered Sasuke.

"I don't disagree with that sentiment….but even individuals who only cause harm to others….the act of killing them should not be taken lightly either," muttered Hinata.

"Well…you're quick to place those who cause harm to others in a category that is more permissible to be killed….I find that I care very little for the notions of good or bad. Seems to me that there only exists perspectives and opinions."

"I can accept the idea that the removal of various individuals may lower the harm and increase the quality of life in other individuals over a great margin…..but even those kills….I find myself feeling remorse for my actions."

"….So where does your point leave you and I?"

"Unlike many others….I recognize a life as a life….simple as that. Their inherent values are not meant to be compared like trivial numbers when considering the next best course of action. Constantly doing so will cause us to forget what truly makes a life important…and when that occurs….how much humanity will truly be left within us?" Asked Hinata rather cryptically as she looked over the horizon and followed the slow rising moon.

"Well….how else do you propose we make decisions? I suppose I'm starting to understand where you're coming from….but I fail to understand how anything in the world can move forward if we can't make comparisons of non-tangible values."

"I don't propose we never take these course of actions….like I said, I'm no stranger to assassination and I agree with the concept and intent of many of these decisions. However, it is important to almost remember the level of atrocity that killing is…no matter the identity of the target. Suppose each life is worth an infinite value….how do we compare then?"

"…The question of the hour," smirked Sasuke.

* * *

"Here we are…the heart of Water Country," murmured Sasuke as he looked upon the bustling streets and large buildings.

"It should be in that building right over there," noted Shikamaru as he pointed towards a rather large convention center that resided at the center of the busy streets.

"First…..put these on," instructed Sasuke as he handed everyone two jade bracelets.

"Never took you for a fancy jewelry person," noted Shino as Naruto and Shikamaru simply snickered.

Sasuke rolled his eyes, "They'll suppress the magnitude of your Chakra and moving your hands swiftly will become a slight feat of strength. Think of them as Chakra weights, but you aren't wearing them for training purposes; all your Chakra levels will seem more civilian-like when you wear them."

The rest of the team all eyed the bracelet for a moment before snapping it to their wrists and a brief look of concentration and discomfort took their face over as they adjusted to the newfound sensation.

"Are we all ready?" Asked Sasuke as he turned around to survey his team while he adjusted his collar and tie a bit.

"Ugh, I hate all this fancy clothing," scowled Naruto as he loosened his tie and tried to button up his sleeves.

Hinata giggled to herself as she walked over and helped adjust Naruto's tie and sleeves so that he was a bit more comfortable. A rather sheepish look appeared on Naruto's face as he blushed a bit and averted his gaze while everyone else merely nodded in confirmation to Sasuke.

"Alright, you two take it slow until we secure the information first," instructed Sasuke as he pointed to Ino and Hinata.

"I've encrypted our voice channel so that activity will be hard to detect as long as usage is sparse. Even if they catch on, as long as we speak in small increments, it should be extremely hard to trace the signal back to any of us," explained Shino as he tapped on his Leafpoint device.

"We will survey the area and keep watch for you two," reminded Sasuke as he gestured to himself and Shino before pointing at Naruto and Shikamaru.

"We'll locate the target first and tail him until your signal," confirmed Ino as Hinata lightly nodded.

Sasuke began walking forward and up the steps to the large building before being stopped by another individual donning dark clothes as well as a headband with the Mist symbol.

"Hello….?" Spoke Sasuke with a rather unsure voice as he slowly extended his hand forward.

"You know the drill….sophisticated party with famous individuals….gotta make sure you guys aren't armed to the teeth," muttered the Mist operative as he ignored Sasuke's hand and patted him down.

"Watch your hands," grumbled Ino as two other operatives appeared at her side and checked her as well.

One of the operatives narrowed their eyes as they patted Sasuke down and felt a rather unusual shape one Sasuke. After a moment, the operative removed a rather dull looking dagger that seemed rather worn and blunt.

"….Any particular reason you were carrying this?" Asked the operative rather suspiciously.

"Merely a memento of my late father…..something I like to carry around. Surely you could even notice that the blade is not particularly suited for any use in its current condition," responded Sasuke.

The operative examined the blade for a bit to verify Sasuke's statement before handing it off to his partner who put it in a small container and proceeded inside the building.

"Understandable…but rules are rules….you are to remain unarmed at the event. We have it secured in a separate location which you can retrieve from before you leave," explained the operative as Sasuke merely nodded.

After confirming that the group didn't have any other hidden weapons with them, the Mist operatives stepped aside and gestured for the incognito Leaf group to enter.

"Terribly sorry about all that….but I'm sure you can understand why all the precautions must be taken," smiled an individual who stepped out of the building in a rather expensive suit.

"Of course, chancellor," replied Sasuke with a smile on his face as he recognized the individual who had greeted him and his team. "I'm quite pleased that safety is at the forefront of your mind."

"Nothing less for my esteemed guests," laughed the chancellor before he took a closer look at the group in front of him. "You all arrived together? I'm surprised a group of such rising star talents are familiar with each other."

"You know what they say; it's a small world," chuckled Sasuke.

"Hah, so it is Satoshi…so it is. I look forward to doing future business with you, Sheen, and Ikumi; I've heard wonderful things about the works of those two," smiled the chancellor.

"I look forward to that day as well," smiled Sasuke as the chancellor gestured for the group to enter the building behind him.

The group moved forward in silence for a bit as they walked down a rather large corridor and arrived in front of a large set of wooden doors. Sasuke stood in front of it for several moments before exhaling and turning back to his team and checking to see if anyone nearby could overhear him.

"Are we all ready?" Murmured Sasuke as his eyes continued to dart across their surroundings.

"….Didn't think you were the type to keep family heirlooms," noted Shino as he adjusted his shades.

"I'm not….that's a random knife that I purchased and smacked around a bit to make it look old. I put a small tracking device on it….with any luck, it might lead us to the Ruyi Jingu Bang and the Rajin No Ken," explained Sasuke.

His team all nodded silently back to him to which Sasuke turned around and pushed both doors open revealing a rather large ballroom filled with individuals all chatting, dancing, or simply eating extravagant food or sampling fine wine.

"I've altered the device so that all your Leafpoints should be able to track it….everyone get into position," ordered Sasuke as he and Shino disappeared into the crowd to survey the area.

Naruto and Shikamaru nodded at each other before they both strolled off to the side towards the stairs leading to the second floor.

"C'mon….we've got a deserter to locate," murmured Ino as she grabbed Hinata's hand and headed towards the second floor as well.

* * *

"So what exactly are we looking for?" Asked Naruto as he gazed around wildly.

"Someplace that we probably aren't supposed to be….will you stop making yourself look so suspicious," growled Shikamaru as he noticed Naruto's frantic look.

"I'm still not exactly sure what it is that we're looking for," muttered Naruto as he stopped rapidly looking around the room.

"Let's just get to the top so we can overlook the lower floor….we can probably see the room layout much more clearly from above," explained Shikamaru.

"….Ah….does the architectural design of this floor interest you?" Asked a nearby individual with a monocle as he overheard the latter half of the conversation.

"Uh….yeah sure…let's go with that," replied Naruto as he panicked a bit and quickly looked at the floor.

"Ah well then….I happen to be an expert on this….it might interest you to know that…..," began the individual.

Shikamaru could not help but groan at what Naruto's stupidity had just dragged them into.

 _Dear god….I sure hope we aren't needed soon…._

* * *

"So how should we go about this?" Asked Shino as he and Sasuke slowly made their way through the dense crowd.

"Let's see if we can't spot out some of the guards or surrounding walking patterns…we need to figure out quick escape routes or anything in similar vein if we have to bail," replied Sasuke.

"I imagine they will probably be patrolling or surveying the area from the edges…it is in their best interest to maximizer their field of vision," suggested Shino.

"Possibly….but it is also in their best interest to remain inconspicuous so that individuals cannot easily discern their formation," reminded Sasuke as he continued to gaze around.

"Do you suppose the operatives inside have hidden their academy insignia? I'm having trouble spotting out individuals that bear anything similar to the guards at the front," murmured Shino.

"If that is the case…perhaps some information can be acquired from our surroundings," sighed Sasuke as he closed his eyes to focus for a moment.

"….What exactly does that entail?" Asked Shino as he raised an eyebrow at Sasuke.

Sasuke exhaled several times before he opened his eyes once more and put on a rather charming smile before approaching a nearby attendant of the party.

"Greetings, I'm heir to Ueno Charge, Satoshi," greeted Sasuke with a smile as he offered his hand.

"Ah, I've heard of that name…..I suppose you've just arrived?" Inquired the female as she returned Sasuke's smile and shook his hand.

 _It's going to be a long night…._

* * *

"Do…do we h-have a p-p-picture of h-him?" Murmured Hinata as she followed Ino.

"Yeah…it should be on your Leafpoint…..try and control your stuttering Hiroka….it draws unnecessary attention," stated Ino offhandedly as she gazed around.

"S-sorry," stuttered Hinata as her cheeks flushed pink.

"I know it's uncomfortable to be in places such as this…but we have a job to do," replied Ino. "Let's try and get somewhere higher….we can see more people from a better vantage point."

With that, Ino dragged Hinata up a set of spiral staircases as they headed to the second floor. As the two arrived on the second floor, they took quick glances to their surroundings before walking over to a balcony that overlooked the ballroom they just ascended from. They gazed around rapidly across the lower floor in hopes of being able to spot Aoi within the crowd of aristocrats.

"What're two young, beautiful, ladies such as yourselves, doing alone at such a grand party?" Asked a rather smooth voice from behind.

"Oh nothing…we're just here to…," trailed off Ino as she turned around and her eyes widened a bit at who appeared before them.

Hinata continued to gaze at the ground for a bit before being a bit confused at Ino's sudden silence. She slowly brought her eyes back up and came face to face with an exact copy of the picture that was recently put on her Leafpoint.

"H-Hi there…..I'm Harada Hiroka," greeted Hinata as she did her best to control her stutter.

"Greetings…I'm Yamazaki Ikumi," followed Ino.

"Well hello…I'm Rokushou Aoi," smiled the individual as he offered his hand forward.

* * *

"It was a pleasure getting to know you," smiled Sasuke as he gestured goodbye to the most recent acquaintance.

"The pleasure was all mine Satoshi," laughed the girl as she turned to mingle with another guest. "Perhaps we shall meet again."

"I sure hope not," muttered Sasuke as soon as she was out of earshot.

"How did that one go? Fun?" Asked Shino with a rather amused look about his face.

"No…but I think I got it….we might see something in the southwest wing," revealed Sasuke as he nodded in said direction.

"Oh yes…my bugs have already confirmed the existence of small patrol groups originating from that region," responded Shino.

"…..Go fuck yourself," growled Sasuke as he grit his teeth at this revelation before his device vibrated a bit.

Sasuke looked down at his device and noticed that his tracking device had suddenly stopped moving and was situated in the far northeast of the building.

"Okay…the item has been deposited somewhere…hopefully in a safe room that is relatively close any other valuables that individuals are carrying. Start tracking it…..we'll update you about security positions in a few moments," whispered Sasuke as he lifted the device up to his hand.

Sasuke waited for a moment for confirmation on the other end before he heard rather quiet swearing and rustling before Shikamaru's voice finally sounded over the transmission.

"Naruto is a fucking idiot…..alright, orders confirmed," murmured Shikamaru.

"…We..um…we've found Aoi….he's conversing with Hinata right now," whispered Ino as she jumped into the conversation.

"Don't execute the second part just yet….we don't want a chance for someone to discover the body….see if you can't hold his attention for longer. The other two will notify you to try and drag him away when they confirm that they have a lock on the Ruyi Jingu Bang at least," ordered Sasuke quietly as he gazed around to make sure that nobody had heard him.

Sasuke and Shino strolled towards the alleged security area for a moment before they reached an entrance to a hallway that two operatives stood in front of.

"Sorry, this area is off limits," stated on of the operatives as he lifted one hand to halt Sasuke.

Sasuke merely nodded his head before gesturing a silent apology with his hand before walking back and straying off to the side with Shino.

"This is too close to the event for us to silent dispatch these individuals…do you think you can sneak your insects back and forth to get a glimpse at what the security setup is like?" Whispered Sasuke.

Shino merely nodded as he lifted one hand up and a single bug flew out before moving in the direction of the hallway and flying overhead of the two operatives.

* * *

Naruto and Shikamaru walked along the corridor for a few moments as the pockets of guests became sparser as they reached an area that was away from the main attractions.

"Should be around here," muttered Shikamaru as he followed the tracking relay on his Leafpoint.

"Hi there," greeted Naruto rather loudly as he slapped Shikamaru's hand down to hide the Leafpoint.

"Sorry, this area is off limits," muttered the guard rather lazily as he leaned against the wall.

"Is that so? What's behind it?" Inquired Naruto as he tried to hold the guard's attention.

Shikamaru instantly caught on as he backed up a bit to walk around the corner and away from the guard's field of vision. He then put his hands together and focused for a moment before he became completely black, save for pure white eyes, and then stepped into the walls and maneuvered around the corner to reappear behind the guard.

"Nothing to worry abo-ACK," coughed out the guard as Shikamaru appeared behind him and held him tightly in a chokehold.

The guard struggled for a moment before his eyes slowly closed as he lost consciousness. Shikamaru looked around for a bit to make sure there weren't any witnesses before he quickly took out some rope and bound the arms and legs of the guard before also tying another around his mouth to restrict speech.

"Let's hide him along the way…..don't want to be compromised," explained Shikamaru as Naruto merely nodded.

"You're next few hallway turns should be empty….careful though, you might come against a patrol group of 2 at the bottom of the stairs," warned Shino over the Leafpoint.

"Hurry it up! Aoi isn't particularly interested in me…and Hinata isn't doing a particularly good job of avoiding his advances….she's going to panic soon," came Ino's rather desperate voice.

"C'mon," nodded Shikamaru as he looked at Naruto. "We're on the clock here…let's not fuck this up."

Naruto merely nodded as he hoisted the guard over his shoulder and the two quickly went back to following the tracking relay.

* * *

"So….you said you were the heiress to the Harada fortune?" Inquired Aoi as he gazed into Hinata's rather strange white eyes.

"Y-yes….we hail from the frozen north of Vanskor at the edge of Lightning country," answered Hinata.

"Interesting…interesting….it's strange as you have rather white eyes….much like a clan I've seen before….in Fire Country," muttered Aoi as his eyes narrowed.

"I-i-is that so?" Stuttered Hinata as she trailed off.

* * *

 _Chronicles of Thirteen_

 _War is raged all the time between sides who wish to prove themselves right. However, war doesn't determine who is correct…merely who is left standing. All these claims of good…evil….correct….wrong….all of it makes no sense to me. All the higher ups in the political world want us to put all the small pictures together so we can see the big picture. Even though I can probably imagine the big picture…..it sure is hard to see it when it's behind a pile of corpses._

 _Shikamaru_

* * *

 **TBC**

 **Whew…long time coming…I got no excuses to be honest; I just don't have that great of a work ethic…hahaha…I sure hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!**


End file.
